The Death Fangs Chapter 1
by pokermind
Summary: This story written just after reading Mission of Honor and so is dated. Warning: to make the Mesans even more disgusting some characters are sexually abused, and a whole class of sex slaves developed for the pedophile market. The treecats join the war with the Mesan Alignment as warriors. Cannon Characters and the Honor-verse belong to David Weber and this is Fan Fic.
1. Chapter 1

**The Death Fangs**

**By pokermind**

**Chapter 1**

Aboard the Death Fang Class LAC _Death Fang's Bane _Lieutenant JG Sings Brightly thought, '_Always a Kitten inform Admiral Dances on Clouds we have located nine cloaked enemy ships. Have her activate the People's (treecat) plot.'_

Ensign Tommy Always a Kitten the only two leg in the crew spoke into his mike, "Admiral Alexander-Harrington the memory singers have located nine cloaked ships, they're on the treecat plot now."

Honor punched the stud for the _Death Fang's Bane_, and said, "Ensign Always a Kitten have the memory singers locate the command ship, and label it with a gold dot." Honor knew the cats would taste the commander. She turned to the tactical officer, "Slave the new information into tactical." Nine red enemy dots appeared on her tactical repeater, all well in Manticorian missile range, and as she watched one turned gold. "Pass a well done to the memory singers, Tommy."

Honor hit the fleet wide toggle, "Cloaked enemy spotted by the cats, slave missile control to the cat targeting information target red dots only we want to capture the enemy command ship. Lock in Alpha Targeting, and launch pods." She turned to her Flag Captain Andy Jackson, "Launch marine boarding party we will not target the enemies command ship. I want it captured intact if possible." Again punching the stud for the _Death Fang's Bane_, "Death Fang attack squadron escort the Silver Claw's assault shuttle."

Admiral Michelle Henke RMN and Countess Gold Peak (Mike) said, "Hope you're luckier with the bastards than I was girl." Mike's battle in Mesa four months before had been a disaster for the Manticorian Navy losing five battle cruisers and eight destroyers. Mike had tagged along to watch Mesa receive the 'salamander's' regards. _God knows I wouldn't be here if Hipper had not warned us about the cloaked enemy. If those memory singers are detecting those bastards good enough for missile tracking they're toast. If not we can still we got time to run._

Honor pushed the fleet stud again, and ordered, "FIRE!" she turned to Nimitz "Your furry cohorts are doing well so far. I hope their targeting is accurate, stinker." A thousand Manticorian missiles tracked eight very unlucky sharks.

Nimitz signed, "With the hidden enemy gone it will be time for vengeance. We will rend the enemy of the People, and avenge the Black Rock Clan."

After missile launch the marine assault shuttle and the cats globe formation changed course for the 'lucky' command shark following the missiles. equidistant on the surface of the Globe formation in a three-sided pyramid the four memory singers constantly updated the Peoples' plot was fed into the missiles' targeting systems with unbelievable accuracy. The sharks maneuvered wildly, antimissiles and point defense took out some of the missile swarm, but it was in vain each lightly armored shark took the full force of at least twenty laser heads. The memory singers tasted the bitter taste of death as eight sharks were destroyed, one near miss grazed the command shark causing its reactor to go into emergency shut down as its containment field became unstable. Mesan reactors had very reliable safe guards, and while none of the destroyed sharks died of containment failure the emergency shut down left the remaining command shark highly visible, adrift, and almost helpless.

The ten Death Fang class LACs in englobement formation soon centered on the command shark accelerating and decelerating at a thousand gravities. Tommy asked for their surrender at Lieutenant Explores Everything's orders, none of the cats could speak, and Tommy worried his voice, that of a six-year-old, might not be rough enough to demand a surrender, "Mesan ship surrender or be destroyed you are centered in our globe." The silver claws' assault shuttle at an acceleration and deceleration of five hundred gravities would take a while to catch up.

Admiral Tupolev of the Mesan Alignment Navy sat on the bridge of the powerless damaged _Mako_, and even with power his cloaked ship was slower than the LACs surrounding him. Worse the enemy proved they could see through the cloak, and all his antimissile missiles were gone in the futile attempt to stop the Mantie missile swarm. His mouth opened in stunned disbelief as the surrender demand, from a kid no less, came in on the clear com. He thought _The _Manties_ must be robbing the cradle! None the less we must surrender, but how could this happen we nearly destroyed the first Mantie fleet sent against us?_

- - September two t-years earlier - -

Bushy Tail named Alice by the Two Legs was waiting on the shuttle to take her on her snotty cruse, she was an engineering midshipman. She was also anxious and she would be joining the CLAC with the LAC maintenance cats, some twenty hunters had joined the Two Legs' (Human) Navy as space cats, and, she would be the ranking member of the People (treecats) on the ship. During her time on Saganami Island she had learned a lot on about the Two Leg's machines and before she had graduated from one of the Two Leg's universities in Physics, but even with sign language and her skill in rapid keyboarding she had not socialized much with the Two Legs. Now she was not a fully trained officer, she had not gotten much of the training in social interactions that most students got at Saganami Island. But now she would be the senior officer of the People aboard the LAC carrier HMS _Defiant_ selected by the RMN as the test-bed integrating the People with the Two Legs. Being the senior officer of the cats gnawed at her as any problems between the People and the Two Legs' would fall on her plate. Genetics had given her tail fur more length than most cats, and when angry her tail bristled to a size twice that of a normal cat. Bushy Tail had a temper that often caused her tail to bristle, hence her treecat name, but a quick temper might not be the best thing in the senior cat officer. She worried about her ability to handle that responsibility, and she had the added responsibility to help teach Two Legs to sign. Alice was not a patient person either, and did not suffer fools gladly. She thought, _Well you picked this life for yourself; you will do your job, and not let the People down!_

- - January a t-year and a quarter earlier - -

Golden Mind, whose human name was Cassandra, was a kitten of Nimitz and Samantha, she had just graduated from college the day of the disastrous sneak attack on Grayson that occurred on Christmas. Now two weeks later she nuzzled White Stone Biter, whose human name was Togo, in his depression. White Stone Biter's bonded human a LAC designer had died in space during the sneak attack on Grayson his shuttle not scheduled to return him until after Christmas. That White Stone Biter had returned to the planet for the graduation of Golden Mind and the rest of Nimitz and Samantha's kittens had saved him physically, but the loss of his adopted human and the intense pain was killing him mentally. It was not uncommon for either the human or treecat of a bonded pair to suicide on the death of their partner. In two weeks since the disaster he had not eaten, and White Stone Biter was a wretched sight his ribs beginning to show from starvation and his fur matted and dirty.

Sympathy had not worked, and so Golden Mind tried a different tack, '_You must eat and regain your strength to help rend our and the two legs enemies. You have told me that before you came here you helped bring down three death fangs endangering the People of Bright Water Clan. Tell me how can such a brave male shirk his duty to the People?'_

_'The two legs use complicated tools to rend their enemies not claw and tooth as the People do, Golden Mind. Thanks to your singing the knowledge of the two legs and my own experience as a stone biter I understand the machines of the two legs better than most of the other People perhaps, but not as well as the two legs. He sighed, Now that Star Flyer is dead I shall learn no more, nor do I want to know more. Now I wish only to die._' He lowered his head on his true hands signaling he wished neither company, nor further conversation.

Golden Mind tasted his bitter despondency, but rudely continued, '_And with your death the People are deprived of the only teacher our people have of the two legs' flying silver eggs. How can you be so selfish, White Stone biter? We must help our two legs defeat this enemy. I need you to help design a LAC that the People can use, and only you have the knowledge and experience to do this. She flattened her ears and hissed as White Stone Biter tasted the full-bore contempt of a memory singer. She unsheathed her claws and raked his flank. I could rend your worthless pelt myself. Now get up and eat have you heard that the Black Rock Clan was destroyed by our two leg's enemies. Our two legs' enemies are now the People's enemies. It is time to rend not grieve White Stone Biter and the People need you. We must go to Dances on Clouds' mate and see how the People can help rend the enemy.'_ The power of the mind glow of the young untrained memory singer, and the taste her hate for the enemy made White Stone Biter rise from his melancholy. As he ate he heard more news of the destruction of the Black Rock Clan the deaths of many of Death Fang's Bane's Clan on Sphinx, and millions of the two legs who shared the home system and Grayson. This fed his own growing hate of the enemy, as hate replaced depression he wished to live and rend the enemy, the joy of life returned, and he ate with gusto. He now had a goal in life, to help the People Rend the enemy with LACs of their own.

On the voyage to the Manticore system Golden Mind asked, Did you taste the malevolent mind glow of the enemy before the attack, White Stone Biter?

_'I did three whiskers to the left of the sun. You also tasted the presence of the enemy?'_

Golden Mind's ears noted the affirmative as her fingers worked the keys of the computer, two planes intercepted to form a line on the screen. '_With just two planes we can only generate a line of intersection. Explores Everything visited the farm in orbit two days before graduation, and he also tasted the malevolent mind glow. His plane and my plane made a line. If we put in the two lines we should know where the enemy was.'_ The two lines intersected on the screen to form a yellow dot. Now the data of the enemy missiles. She typed some more several lines appeared their intersection was a blue dot on the screen. Now we shall compare. A single green dot appeared on the screen rather than two separate blue and yellow dots. '_Our ability to localize the enemies mind glow allows us to find the enemy where the two legs cannot. Detecting the enemy is important in war, and so now we have something to offer the two legs beyond just our courage. We can detect the enemy beyond the range of their weapons.'_

Togo, Jason, and Cassandra or White Stone Biter, Explores Everything, and Golden Mind were usurped into the office of the First Lord of the Admiralty a T-month after the disastrous Mesan sneak attack. First Lord of Admiralty Hamish Alexander, Admiral RMN (ret.), the Earl White Haven, sat behind his desk and, on a platform behind his chair Samantha (Golden Voice) stood as two of her kittens and one of the adults from Grayson entered.

Golden Mind spoke '_Mother the People can help the two legs rend the enemy who murdered the Black Rock Clan.'_ She began to sign to First Lord Alexander, "We three tasted the mind glow of the enemy who attacked Grayson, and could locate their position. Let me demonstrate." She produced a notebook computer, explained where the observation of each cat was made, then using the computer to form the planes that made the lines at intersection, and then the two lines intersecting to form a yellow dot. Hamish nodded his understanding, and then Golden Mind continued, "These are the missile tracks and back worked point of origin." The blue lines intersected to form a blue dot. "If we superimpose …" the single green dot appeared on the screen, "we see that our ability to locate the mind glow of the enemy can be used to locate those your machines cannot yet see. I propose the formation of LAC squadrons manned by treecats to en-globe our fleets to detect our common enemy. This will allow us to rend them. White Stone Biter began the design for the new Death Fang LAC based on the Grayson _Katana_ class for the treecats' use. We will recruit crews to begin training, and we need you two legs to recruit the smallest two legs for communications on them as we cannot make your mouth noises and typing messages is too slow."

"Why not just have a single treecat on the existing Grayson _Katanas_?"

Jason signed with anger flattened ears, "The People wish to rend the enemy ourselves in vengeance for the Black Rock Clan."

Golden Mind used logic, "With too many two legs aboard a ship isolating the enemy's mind glow is difficult especially in the stress of combat. We treecats can dampen our mind glow to allow an unhindered search, but two legs lack the mind discipline so overwhelm our ability to locate the enemy. Your ability to control your mind glow is that of a new born kitten. We will be more effective with just the treecats and one two leg as crew we can perhaps train a few two legs to control their mind glows. You two legs cannot taste the mind glow of others, but we can, and can probably help a few two legs to control theirs who will act as our two leg voice."

Togo signed "Besides the People are hunters by nature and will not volunteer to be mere scouts like half grown kittens and those just out of kitten-hood. We are also warriors, and we have been attacked too. The People have became more and more confident with your tools and machines since Too Curious (Dr. Adelina Arif) taught us to speak with our hands."

Hamish thanks to Samantha could read the body language of the three determined treecats, they would help fight the Mesans, but only on their own terms. He also knew some of the treecats were already integrating into human society. Obviously if the cats could detect a cloaked enemy it was time to integrate the Royal Manticoreian Navy, but the final decision would rest with Queen Elizabeth III.

Golden Mind did the same demonstration for Dances on Clouds and Soul of Steel, and faced the same thought of using the People as mere scouts. Leaf Catcher (Ariel) presented their arguments for the People's own squadrons to the queen. A project was started using a standard Grayson _Katana_ class LAC as a starting point for the new _Death Fang_ class LAC designed for a crew of treecats with White Stone Biter as chief engineer. Crews were recruited for training, but finding humans small enough to serve as communications petty officers would came up short.

While a Death Fang LAC will have the same outside dimensions as a standard Grayson _Katana_ the space between decks will be only half of that of ships normally used. Using simple scaling half the liner dimensions is a quarter of the area, and an eighth the volume, and thus freeing up seven eights the volume once occupied by living space for more reaction mass, missile, and consumable storage. However not all dimensions could be shortened i.e. a hall running the length of the ship was as long as in a normal _Katana_ so they actually only had only half the living space for extra storage in reality. Still the extra missiles, reaction mass, and consumables extended their range and endurance to one hundred and fifty percent that of a standard _Katana_. Some of the saved space went into bigger compensators allowing a phenomenal acceleration of a thousand gravities. Like the cats themselves the Death Fang Class LACs would be small, fast, and deadly.

Cluster Stalk Grower was the only surviving member of the Black Rock Clan the trader had lost mate and kittens surviving only because he was trading his celery to the Bright Water Clan. He lay close to death in a borrowed nest when a strange young memory singer came in with a male whose mind glow showed signs of recently starving himself. Go and let a male in peace join his mate and kittens in death. You cannot convince me to live when all I have loved is dead.

Golden Mind swiped her claws on his flank, Coward the People have an enemy, and I offer you a chance to rend those who killed those you loved. This is a chance to make your death in battle against those who killed your Clan, family, and friends rather than pining away in a nest like an abandoned kitten. Get up, eat, clean your fur of filth, and join the ranks of the People's warriors. All the other Clans have joined to rend the enemy will Black Rock Clan be the only clan not represented?

There is no Black Rock Clan our nests are ash and bones now leave a male to share his clan's and family's fate in peace.

There is a Black Rock Clan as long as you live. Would you have the People remember the last of Black Rock Clan was too cowardly to fight the enemy? Have you no hate for those who killed your clan, family, and friends? Arise from your depression and drive it out with hate for those who destroyed those you loved, eat and clean yourself for their vengeance, and thus let the memory singers of the People sing that Black Rock Clan went down fighting your fangs in the throat of the enemy. Cluster Stock Grower tasted the hate Golden Mind had for the enemy, it was sweet, and his depression fled before his own growing hate. That same hate was spreading among the People. Mesa, to quote Admiral Yamamoto after who Honor would name Cluster Stock Grower had, "Awoken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

Aboard the Mesan Luxury Liner _Joyous Voyage _Tommy padded along the carpeted hall of his owner's suite of to his own tiny room. He walked naked, but it was usual for PBT (Pedophile's Boy Toy) being naked even in 'public' spaces. He was twenty T-years old, but had the hairless body and proportions of a six-year-old. He would stay a 'child' for the rest of his short life. He was a genetic slave specifically grown for the highly profitable pedophile ultra black-market, and his development permanently arrested at age six. PBTs and PGTs (Pedophile's Girl Toys) in any age of development created for the tastes of pedophile customers, some as young as two, and some as old as fourteen. The pedophile toys were schooled and trained until eighteen years of age, and then sold at auction naked on the block. Pedophiles faced harsh penalties for using real children sexually, but the PBTs and PGTs were all certified over eighteen, and thus 'legal' adult sex slaves. Tommy was slim with cream-colored skin with freckles and red hair, he was of the Tom Sawyer class of PBTs and like all the others named Tom or Tommy by their owners, as such did not even own his own name, and he was thus just an interchangeable boy toy.

Tommy did not like being a boy toy, but it was the only life he knew. No one at any time asked his opinion on what he wanted to be when he grew up, and medically and genetically made certain he never would grow up. He sighed as he stretched his naked body on his small bunk to sleep, but at least his well reamed anus no longer hurt as it had his first weeks as Mr. Dubois' boy toy.

Tommy worried about their imminent arrival at the planet Pleasure, Mr. Dubois was dropping hints that he was thinking of trading him in on a new boy toy with a tighter anus, and Pleasure contained the largest market where PBTs and PGTs are sold. The fate of trade-ins was known to the PBTs, and often used as a threat for obtaining more compliant behavior from them. Sold cheap to sadists who disposed of them by killing them eventually, and so few PBTs ever saw their thirtieth birthday. His owner was high in the Mesan government, and Tommy had overheard too much to be allowed to live. He might luck out by being executed quickly and not be tortured to death, and perhaps betraying something the Mesan government preferred to keep quiet. It took him a while to fall into a fitful sleep.

Tommy still dreamed that some day he might escape the horror of his current wretched existence, and ultimate fate. It whispers that some slaves escaped, or freed during space voyages, and so there's a slight hope. That hope of freedom was about the only thing a hopeless PBT could ever do about his wretched existence, and ultimate fate.

Tommy had not been asleep long when the liner came out of hyper, but was soon awoken by shouting and thumps in the hall that caused him to get up and open his door. A large man wearing strange hard clothing whirled round leveling a pulse rifle on him, and Tommy gulped thinking his end was nigh. The rifle's muzzle was then pointed at the upper deck.

"You startled me, son! You better put your clothes on, boy."

"Yes, master." Tommy turned, and put on his only garment a long tunic that came to his knees that he wore when serving guests.

"Don't master me you're free now, boy. I'm private Randy Travis Royal Montacorian Marines, who are you?"

"I'm Tommy, Mr. Dubois' PBT. Sir, am I really free now?"

The marine's eyes narrowed, "You sure are. How old are you, son?"

"Twenty T-years, sir. I know I look like a little kid, but we PBTs are kept as children for our master's sexual pleasure. I'm medically and genetically incapable of growing up, sir."

In the public room of the suite Mr. Dubois was cursing, he wore shorts and a robe with his wrists bound behind his back by the plastic ties that had replaced metal handcuffs long before mankind ventured into deep space. "Sarge, this is Tommy. He's this child molester's boy toy slave." The temperature in the room dropped. A slave owner caught in open space with a slave considered a slaver, thus subject to the death penalty, but a good lawyer could usually get them off with a prison term. But the penalty for pedophilic sex toy slave owners was death by slow torture period no messy trials, it was the same fate that awaited their cast off victims, and thus not considered cruel or unusual punishment. Dubois blanched as his status changed from civilian prisoner with rights to a pedophile caught with a PBT with no rights at all, and only a horrible fate to look forward to. Tommy smiled, he had rarely smiled before as there was little in his life to this point to smile about, at least until now, but now his tormentor and he had switched fates. Perhaps there was justice in this cruel cold uncaring universe after all. Mesa could not have predicted the Manticoreians' would split their remaining strength to go on offensive hit and run raids. HMS _Honor_, had been sent to get upper level Mesan prisoners to discover what the Mesans' true game was, and capturing a luxury liner near Pleasure was a simple way to get those prisoners. Not to mention the prize money.

Tommy after two months was wearing underwear, jeans, a horizontally red striped white shirt, white socks, and tennis shoes as he followed his friend Randy now in uniform not battle armor down a hall in the huge flagship. Most of Tommy's new wardrobe had been the work of the navy tailor and shoe repairman aboard cruiser HMS Honor that had captured the Mesan Luxury Liner. Tommy had so many interviews digging out what he knew about Mesa's plans that he felt like a wrung-out wash cloth. His information coupled with what they had tortured out of Mr. Dubois and others had tied much of what the Manticoreians already knew together. Mesa was the main enemy, and they were using the Manticoreian Empire, the Republic of Haven, and the Solarian League to destroy each other. Admiral Alexander-Harrington wanted to meet him, shuttled to the flagship from the cruiser and now, Randy and he stood before her door at the end of the hall.

Admiral Alexander-Harrington invited Tommy to sit down. "Your information has allowed us to tie the strings together to see Mesa's plan, a Star Empire even more evil than anything yet seen in the universe. We're through squeezing your head, so now its time to ask you what you wish to do with the rest of your life."

"I wish to join your fight against the Mesans."

"I'm afraid that is impossible. You know that you will never grow large enough to use adult sized controls, tools, or weapons."

Tommy was crestfallen, but then Nimitz stood his true hands flying, "Always a Kitten is just the two leg the Death Fangs need he is almost as small as a cat. Ask if Always a Kitten would serve with treecats as a communications PO."

Honor laughed, and said, "OK Stinker. Tommy there is a new squadron forming, one of treecats like Stinker here," she pointed at Nimitz, "but they need humans, small humans as their communication POs since they cannot speak. Are you interested in joining them?" At Tommy's nod she continued. "It will be a lot of work to learn to use and repair communications equipment, how to talk to the cats in sign language, and the cats will train you to dampen what they call a mind glow to allow them to detect cloaked Mesan ships better. Private take him to Saganami Island if cadet Jason accepts him get him in uniform, his paperwork finished, and started on his training. What is your last name?"

"We PBTs don't have last names. Ugh, Sir?"

"You are no longer a PBT. Stinker here gave you a treecat name, 'Always a Kitten' that's what the treecats will call you, but you need a last name for the paperwork, as you will soon discover the Navy floats on a sea of paper. Speaking of which you can read and write?"

"Yes we had school so we would be able to perform duties other than sex. How about my treecat name for a last name, 'Always a Kitten' has a nice ring to it, and is very descriptive of my fate." Honor was amazed not to taste bitterness in the last statement, but then Tommy had twenty years to adjust to his fate, and that he made the best of it spoke well of his character. Neither Honor nor Nimitz noticed they were not tasting any emotion from Tommy. Tommy continued, "I'll be serving with the treecats and just because we are small doesn't me we are not dangerous, right Stinker?"

Nimitz signed, "See Always a Kitten has the heart of a warrior to go with his hate of the enemy. Even without fang and claw he will help us rend the enemy by being our voice."

Explores Everything (Jason) Honorary member of the Bright Water Clan and ranking cadet, Mind Stalk Grower (Yamamoto) of the Black Rock Clan, Death Fang Render (Perry) of the High Crag Clan, Always Successful (Dewey) of the Sun Leaf Clan, Branch Strider (Dahlgren) of the Blue Mountain Dancing Clan, Leaf Picker (Fletcher) of the Laughing River Clan, Black Stone Biter (Spruance) of the High Crag Clan, Full Belly (Nagumo) of the Walks in Moonlight Clan, Always Joking (Kondō) of the Bright Heart Clan, and Quick Claw (Halsey) of the Bright Water Clan the ten treecats training as captains of the First Squadron of the Death Fangs anxiously with their tails waving wildly awaited Tommy's arrival. Honor had named the cats, all but Jason for admirals. The squadron named the Black Rock Clan's Vengeance Squadron by the new Council of Clans. Sphinxian Forest Service Ranger Dan McCoy was present to do the translating and he was grumpy from loosing his time off.

The cats were anxious because with modern medicine there were very few dwarves and midgets, and none had volunteered to serve with the treecats. The cats had despaired of finding even a single human small enough to serve as their communication PO. Within their own squadron their mind voices allowed them to communicate with each other out to ten million miles in space, but to communicate with two legs they needed a small two leg to make the mouth noises to sound a warning. If they could not find one then they would be relegated to typing conversations with their three finger one thumb hands that were clumsy on the keyboards designed for the two legs four finger one thumb hands making them very slow hunt and peck keyboarders. Not to mention that comprehensible spelling was not among of most cats' accomplishments.

As Tommy entered the room he grabbed his head and both said and thought "I hope you are all not going to talk at once to me like this. It hurts."

Jason (Explores Everything) was the ranking cadet and raised his hand palm out signaling a call for mind silence_. You hear my mind voice, Always a Kitten?_

Again using both voice and mind Tommy said, "Of course." Ranger McCoy looked at Tommy in alarm, concern, and envy mind glows that the cats tasted. From Always a Kitten they tasted nothing, but Jason from living with the two legs on Grayson recognized the two leg's body language denoting wonder, not tasting Tommy's mind glow a small shadow of doubt in the happiness at finding a non mind blind two leg, and then he heard Always a Kitten's mind voice 'I wonder if since I'm telepathic like the treecats if they can hear my thoughts?'

_'Yes Always a Kitten we share a mind voice. Can you hear the thoughts of the other two legs? Answer only with your mind voice.'_

A few of us PBTs were telepathic with each other, about one in ten, but only we could share thoughts with each other. With other people we could neither read their thoughts, nor could they read ours.

_'You are the first two leg the People have met who was not mind blind can you taste our happiness?'_

_'What?'_ Although Tommy was telepathic he was not empathic.

_'We say taste to mean we feel the feelings of others, you cannot feel the feelings of others then?'_

_'No. That must be terrible when you are near anyone in pain.'_

_'Of course it is, and death has a terrible taste. We cannot taste your feelings, and you cannot taste ours. All the other two legs we have met are just the opposite, we easily taste their feelings, but they are mind blind to our thoughts.'_ Jason then turned to ranger McCoy and signed, "Always Serious, this two leg is not mind blind we will not need you to translate. Sorry for wasting your time off, but father is mind blind too, and could not know what a treasure he sent us. Always a Kitten is now a brother of the Death Fangs we all adopt him." Tommy heard every word in his mind, and smiled for at last he had a home.

Although Tommy could communicate with the cats better than any human his blindness to the feelings of others limited full communication, and this also meant he could not detect the Enemy who were mind blind. Always a Kitten was glow blind (non-empathic). The treecats adopted him as a friend and their human, but without the two-way empathic connection usually shared in a bond. Perhaps not having a full bond was a blessing for they discovered that Tommy's genetic conditioning had made prolong treatments impossible. While it was sad so valuable a two leg would be short lived, but now that the true enemy was known the cats thought the war would be short.

Luckily for Tommy with all he had to learn, he could learn almost as quickly as any kitten from the memory singers. Because he was glow blind Always a Kitten had to practice to bring up his tactile skills to acceptable levels that the People would have quickly learned listening to both the telepathic and empathic components of the memory singers songs that included tactile memory.

Tommy learned sign language because some cats he would interact with were mind blind like Nimitz. While he studied communications equipment and methods under Petty Officer Burke his treecat buddies attended their officer courses. In the evenings the cats taught him mind control, sign language, and treecat games. Tommy never laughed so much, or smiled as much in his life. For the first time in his life he had a family, his squadron mates. He had friends in the PBT crèche, but not a family. Various memory singers visited teaching him treecat manners, history, and culture. Doctors tested him to discover why he could communicate directly with treecats. Their conclusion something unknown was changed in his brain when his pituitary gland was surgically modified to stop his maturation. That it happened in only one in ten of his fellows showed it was probably some serendipitous accident.

Physically Tommy was 1.165 meters (45.9 inches) tall, and weighed 21.0 kilograms (46.3 pounds.) Male treecats were about two meters long nose tip to tail tip usually standing on four legs with their backs arched back like a feline centaur standing about 1.2 meters (47.3 inches,) but could standing on just their rear legs stand 1.53 meters (60.28 inches) tall weighing 15 kilograms (33 pounds.) Female treecats are about one and a half meters long nose to tail tip usually standing on four legs with their backs arched back like a feline centaur standing about 0.9 meters (35.5 inches,) but could standing on just their rear legs stand 1.15 meters (45.2 inches) tall weighing 7 kilograms (15.5 pounds.) Tommy was slightly taller than the cats usual feline centaur like stance, but his build was stockier and he weighed 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds) more than the very gracile treecats.

The very rapid training program for both Tommy and the cats precluded much of the social interactions usually associated as part of the training at Saganami Island. But one ugly incident did occur between the sion of North Hollow a senior cadet and Tommy a lowly enlisted recruit. Ryan Young was as much an oversexed bully as his Uncle had been to Honor Harrington, he caught Tommy where he thought he was alone in the shower, and demanded he as a former sex slave perform oral sex. _Help! I no longer wish to be used as a bully's boy toy!_

_We come little brother!_

"Go on suck it, I know you've had the practice, and if you do a good …" Young stopped at the sound of angry growls and snarls from ten treecat throats. Young turned to see the enraged cats snarling their backs arched with fur bristling, ears flatened for battle, and claws extended to rend. As Young tasted the blind white hot furry from ten treecat minds protecting their adopted human kitten he shat himself. The cats tasted his fear, a single cat could easily kill an unarmed man, ten would leave a dismembered pile of not so clean bones.

Tommy recognized Jason's mind voice, _Always a Kitten translate into mouth sounds for me._ Tommy translated Jason's mind voice, "Jason says, "You are under arrest for sexual assault, resist and we will rend you as we would a death fang (hexapuma) threatening a kitten."

Halsey, Quick Claw, was of the Bright Water Clan. He was also the younger sibling of Nimitz, and uncle of Jason. He was the oldest and quickest tempered of the captains in training, and the closest thing Tommy had to an adopted father. _I say never allow a danger to kittens to live, rend him, eat him, and be done with him._

_That is not the two legs way_, Uncle Quick Claw.

_But is the People's way to rend a threat to our kittens_, Explores Everything. _Let me taste his meat._

_Yes let us all taste his meat_, Perry, Death Fang Render thought.

_Yes let's taste his meat. I'm hungry, too, let me at least have his male part for a light snack,_ Nagumo, Full Belly, the fattest of the cats thought. Bleeking a laugh.

Ryan Young seeing the cats looking at each other, but not at him tried to escape the shower, and it was the last mistake he would ever make. Halsey was on him in a bound, taking out his throat with his first claw swipe. The others released their pent-up rage and furry rending and eating. They began their feast while Ryan was sill alive, but his torn throat could only produce a gurgle not scream as Nagumo bit off his still erect penis. Ryan did not writhe in agony long as ten living buzz saws rapidly tore him to pieces.

Tommy stared in wide-eyed fascination as his brothers tore his enemy to pieces and devoured him leaving some not so clean bones. He had laughed when Nagumo gave him the oral sex he had dreamed of giving is tormentors as a boy toy. While treecats were intelligent they were far from what humans would call civilized. An enemy had attacked one of their kittens, and their instinct was to rend and feed.

Jason cleaning the blood from his fur thought '_Always a Kitten, finish your shower, put on your uniform. Then call the Commandant, and tell him to come with the military police because you have found a body in the shower. Then break com before he asks questions. When they arrive we will tell what happened to this attacker of kittens. Then Jason used a loud mind voice to call his mother, Samantha, and Queen Elizabeth III's treecat companion, Ariel to ask they come with their Humans, We have rendered and eaten a two leg who attacked Always a Kitten in the shower. Mother, have your human ask Dances on Clouds to bring father, and have Too Curious come, too.'_

When the Shore Patrol arrived one of the officers had to go pray to one of the porcelain alters losing his dinner in the rest room section of the cadet bathroom. When the Commandant arrived, Tommy gave a quick and dirty synopsis of the evening's events, and the Commandant said, "What a political disaster! You're telling me that pile of bones was the son of North Hollow, son?"

Tommy used to most people talking to him like a kid, so he simplify answered, "Yes, sir."

"Why did the cats do it, son?"

"As I said I was assaulted in the shower by Ryan Young, he wanted to use me as a boy toy, and I no longer want to be a boy toy so I called to my treecat brothers with my mind voice. The cats came quickly. Jason put Young under arrest, he tried to escape, and so the cats attacked, killed, and ate a known danger to kittens."

"God! What a mess the news faxes will be all over this." He turned to Jason, "Well what do you have to say, cadet?"

Tommy translated Jason's mind voice, "We will say our say when the others arrive, sir."

"Others?" an angry, worried, and concerned commandant asked.

"Four humans and three treecats, sir."

"Exactly who are they?"

"Queen Elizabeth, First Lord Alexander, Admiral Alexander-Harrington, and Commissioner of Treecat Affairs Dr. Adelina Arif are the humans, and the three treecats are their companions Ariel, Samantha, and Nimitz, sir."

"Why?"

"They come to resolve the conflict between Human and Treecat cultures, sir. Killing and eating a danger kittens is normal in treecat culture." Jason folded his fore arms over his chest in a very human gesture, and Tommy continued, "Jason says they will say nothing more so they will not have to repeat the tale of the death of the evil one it is a tale with a bad tasting mind glow. All the cats are very stubborn about telling the story only once, sir." All ten treecats now stood with their forearms folded on their chests. The commandant looked between the pile of not so clean bones, and ten very stubborn and deadly treecats and decided that discretion was the better part of valor here. Besides he could dump this hot potato in lap of someone else, and he smiled at the thought. Jason bleeked a laugh tasting the Commandant's cascading emotions. _Always a Kitten the Commandant will let the others handle this._

Later the shore patrol man again visited the porcelain alter when Full Belly described his appetizer, Ryan's erect penis. More than one male winced at that part of the story, and Elizabeth Winton remarked, "Served the child molester right."

Dr. Arif said, "It is treecat instinct to kill and eat any animal that is a danger to the Clan's kittens, and the cats consider Tommy a kitten of their clan, their younger brother. Mister Young was unfortunate in choosing his victim, not only an adopted treecat, but one with a mind voice loud enough to call for help. I'm surprised Jason tried to arrest Young first rather than just leading the fatal attack. May I ask you Jason why?"

Jason signed, "Just trying to be polite to the two legs, and as Naval Officer is my duty to uphold the Star Empire's Law, but the idiot tried to escape arrest, and so he died by our claws and fangs." The treecat shrugged shoulder and the human shrugged shoulder were identical in meaning in body language. In the end cadet Ryan Young's death was ruled, justifiable homicide of a prisoner killed while trying to escape felony arrest, and deadly force was appropriately applied.

Lord North Hollow attempted to cause more trouble over the incident, quoted as saying "blood thirsty wild animas have eaten my son, and they want to make them citizens," but when other victims of his pedophile younger son came forward the news faxes had a field day, and he retreated from the glare of very negative public attention. He had bought off several young victims who now came forward. Lord North Hollow preyed that the Queen's Prosecutor did not press criminal interference with justice charges against him.

There was too much important work to be done waste time on a dead criminal, and so the world moved on. One side benefit for Tommy was that none of the other larger cadets dared bully him now not with ten proven lethal big brothers at his call. Nine months after starting at the academy eleven months after the sneak attack they graduated on the accelerated LAC program. At the treecats insistence Tommy Always a Kitten did not become a Chief Petty Officer, but a full Ensign in the Royal Manticoreian Navy. The ten momory singers had taken two each each of the year's course work, and sang it to the others. One had taken advanced tactics, and another a Snotty cruse as an engineering midshipman. Four would be the XOs of four of the Death Fang Class LACs, one would join the engineering department of their CLAC as an engineering ensign, the remaining five would train more treecat LAC officers.

Much of what happened in the outside would had passed the overworked students who crammed in four years of courses in a single year by. Several successful hit and run raids like the one that freed Tommy occurred, but also a desterous battle in the Masan system losing five battle crusers and eight destroyers. With the news the deadly cloaked ships protected that system. On the bright side Hipper, Branch Leaper the treecat companion of Ensign Rachel Mayhew, whose timely warning saved the rest of Admiral Michelle Henke fleet. The treecat cadets basked in the reflected glory, and being cats they took full advantage of it.

As the simulators were not ready the newly graduated officers and their crewcats had also graduated from enlisted school they were all granted two weeks of leave on Spinx. Always a Kitten since you have no family and you are assigned to me come home with me. Jason would be spending home leave at the Harrison steading as he could not make a round trip to Grayson.

Are you sure I'll be welcome?

You are my little brother, and my sister will want to meet you. We will also go to the Bright Water Clan the People will love a non mind blind two leg. Our crewcats are all from the Bright Water Clan, and we can meet them early. My sister, Golden Mind, E-mailed a letter saying that Always Bleeking (Faith Harington) gave our crew their two leg names from ancient two leg video jokers. Quite a joke is it not?

The shuttle landed on Sphinx Always a Kitten in the full uniform of an ensign of the RMN. Jason wore a white cloth collar with his twin silver bars of rank on each side. It was white as he was a LAC captain. The other cats on his LAC wore black collars with their ranks. The crewcats gave Tommy a warm welcome on the shuttle delighted to meet a two leg they could talk to normaly without the bothersome sign language. The crewcats and their memory singer XO soon departed the Harrison steading for the home trees of Bright Water Clan soon after landing. All had invited Always a Kitten to visit their nests when he visited the home trees. As the Bright Water Clan supplied two crews their shuttle had the most cats aboard.

Faith Harrington kissed Tommy's forehead, and said, "So you are the famous Tommy Always a Kitten. Since Jason signed you his little brother I'll think of you as my little brother too."

"Big Brother!" Raoul Alexander-Harrington said with a two and a half-year-old's authority as he tugged at Tommy's trousers for attention. Honor's son was visiting his grandparents.

Greetings little Brother welcome to our family. thought Golden Mind. Then turning to Jason Brother the latest new is that I have been made Duchess of the Trees our People's representative in the House of Lords, and we have two representatives in the commons. We have chosen to all become Manticoreian citizens, and as such represented in the Manticoreian Government. The Queen wanted mother but she insisted I be chosen.

Doctor Alfred Harrington deeded the Harrington Steading except the house and grounds, and the Queen added some unoccupied lands and forest contiguous to it for the Duchy of the Trees. A LAC factory and missile factory that was on the lands to provide the Duchy revenue were deeded by Honor Alexander-Harrington. Hundreds of treecat workers toiled to make and arm the squadrons to avenge Black Rock Clan. Huge greenhouse farms were being built to provide winter food for the workers. A new city Honor's Tree provided housing for the workers and their families. The workers from many other clans formed a new treecat clan named the Trees Clan. Over a hundred human workers also lived in the Duchy of Trees.

The City of Honor's Tree had apartments for both treecats and humans heated by the waste heat of the power plant supplying energy for the factories and town. The apartments surrounded a central park of natural Sphinxian forest with some cleared grassy areas favored by humans and a small lake. Some more traditional treecats built nests in the forest, but in the long Sphinxian winter to come they would discover the benefits of heated apartments. Human and treecat farmers grew great amounts food, some distributed to the 'wild clans' since so many hunters and younger farmers either migrated to the jobs in the rapidly rebuilding space industries and expanding terrestrial businesses, and those joining the Navy. The treecat population was exploding as modern medicine, secure food supplies, and modern heated housing saw more kittens born.

The ground floors of the apartments contained stores, churches, schools, theaters, government and private offices, a hospital, and meeting hall. Golden Mind taught memory singers two leg knowledge and they opened kitten care and teaching services to workers. Half grown kittens took the equivalency tests and entered the workforce as many factory jobs did not require size and strength. Several other factories located in tree as Golden Mind kept taxes and treecat wages low leasing land near Honor's Tree cheap.

In the nine months since the Mesan sleek attack treecat society in the new cities was changing radically. The Bright Heart, Fire Runs Fast, Laughing River, Sun Leaf, and Walks in Moonlight Clans allowed towns, farms, and factories to be built in their home range often using the home trees as the central park forest and clearing land surrounding them for farms and factories following the Honor's Tree model. Their hunters and scouts became factory workers and farmers, a few becoming professionals following human teaching, and some joining the Navy or Marines. Females went to the human schools becoming Doctors, lawyers, government workers, accountants, kitten care specialists, shop and bistro workers etc. becoming most of the professional and business class. Treecat culture in these clans was rapidly changing, becoming civilized rather than the traditional hunter-gathers.

But some of the clans Blue Mountain Dancing, Bright Water, and High Crag preferred to remain as they always had been hunters and subsistence farmers. The Bright Waters were unique in that their home trees remained traditional, but Honor's Tree city was in their range for those who desired modern life. Some cats even commuted to work in the city. Many families changed clans depending on their taste. Older cats often stayed with the majority of their kittens whatever the majority choice, those going to the new cities often bewildered by the modern world. Treecat politics split into two main parties, Modernists and Traditionalists rapidly taking on capitalist and socialist characters as traditional treecat society was highly group conscious, and modernists more of an individualistic approach. Although even Modernists were more socialist group oriented than the Manticoreian Liberal Party ever dreamed of being.

Broken Branch Grabber (Moe) was the Second Pilot & Navigator PO cross trained as a keyboard communications PO of Tommy's LAC and as keyboard communications PO under his direct command. He invited Tommy to spend time in his nest with his mate and kittens to taste the Peoples life in their natural environment, and Tommy spent a week of his leave with him. Moe a former hunter of the clan had his pay sent to his mate to buy food to the bank in Honor's Tree where Basket Maker his mate now owned a shop. But they preferred to live in the home trees so she commuted to her shop daily, luckily his daughter Scared of Lightning was a good cook. She also introduced Always a Kitten to the other kittens of the clan, and the game of Kitten Frisbee. Always a Kitten's only impediment in treecat society was he lacked a mind glow they could taste.

Quick Claw took Tommy hunting, but it was a disaster Tommy could not travel fast in trees. Tommy spent some time with all the crewcats with better success and pitched in to do some needed work about the nests.

**The crew of the ****_Death Fang's Bane_****:**

Officers:

Jason, Explores Everything –Captain of the _Death Fang's Bane_ Lieutenant, and commander of the First Squadron or Black Rock Clan Vengance Squadron.

Minnie, Sings Brightly –Squadron memory singer Lieutenant JG XO of Death Fang's Bane, OD Starboard Watch, and also Squadron XO.

Tommy, Always a Kitten –Human Communications Ensign the only two leg, OD Port Watch.

Enlisted Starboard Watch:

Groucho, Chases Leaves –Chief Petty Officer Pilot & Navigator Chief of the Enlisted Starboard Watch continued:

Gummo, Root Biter –Missile PO

Zeppo, Far Hunter -Tactical Chief Petty Officer

Frenchy, Big Belly -Cook and Environmental PO

Curly, Bristle Tail –Ordinary Spacecat

Shemp, Golden Leaf –Ordinary Spacecat

Enlisted Port Watch:

Moe, Broken Branch Grabber Chief Petty Officer Second Pilot & Navigator cross trained as a keyboard communications PO. Chief of the Port Watch

Harpo, Black Paws -Missile tech first

Chico, Full of Jokes -Electronics Spacecat first

Phyllis Diller, Bright Eyes –Spacecat medic and second cook

Laurel, Torn Ear Ordinary Spacecat

Hardy, Always Hungry Ordinary Spacecat

Tommy found that being an adopted treecat was as much work as Saganami Island, and kitten Frisbee a blood sport. One of the younger memory singers probed the clan's newest member's history. Always a Kitten's life story was full of bad tastes provided by the young female's repugnance. His story further inflamed the People's hatred of the Mesan enemy. But all their vacations were cut short when the Sollies attacked.

All the navy cats and Tommy went to the Harrington's house to watch the news. Between the RMN and their new RHN allies the huge Sollie fleet was badly mauled with few managing to escape back into hyper, four thousand and fifty wallers destroyed, and over two thousand wallers surrendered. The day after the attack their leaves were canceled. The simulators were ready, and the cats would train together as crews. Because of the Death Fang Class LACs extended endurance two crews rotated watch on watch Port and Starboard Watches except in battle.

Broken Branch Grabber thought, Now we practice to use the two leg silver eggs to rend the enemy of the People.

Black Paws thought, My fire tails (missiles) will be our claws and fangs, but rend them we will.

Always Hungry thought, As long as Big Belly keeps the chops and celery coming I'll be happy.

Torn Ear huffed in a very human way, All you think about is your gut are you sure you don't have worms?

Full of Jokes lived up to his name, That reminds me of the old joke how does a hunter eat a whole death fang?

One bite at a time, the other cats answered. Tommy chuckled.

Quick Claw huffed, That joke is older than the dirt, and twice as dusty, Full of Jokes.

Explores Everything ordered, Keep it down a person can't think with all your clutter.

Sings Brightly through her bleeps, And what great thoughts are you thinking O Grand Squadron Commander?

Our new accelerated training schedule for one thing, Dances on Clouds whishes to rend the enemy in three T-months, and we have to be ready. Two weeks in the simulators, then two weeks in our death fangs is all the time we have.

By the ancestors! Can we possibly be ready? the startled cats thought.

Explores Everything continued Ready or not we board the LAC carrier in a month. Some of the two leg LAC squadrons will simulate attacks on us with our sensors turned off to test our memory singers' ability to target them. Dances on Clouds thinks a globe formation with our memory singer's LACs as points of a three sided pyramid is our best formation. Other LAC squadrons usually fly in wall formation, but the globe will allow our memory singers to point claw at the enemy approaching from any direction.

Dances on Clouds is a cunning hunter as she has proven many times once even cheating death its self. It will be good practicing against targets actually trying to stalk us, but I would have preferred longer practice, Sings Brightly thought.

As do we all, Quick Claw grumped.

May the ancestors go with us, all the cats prayed.

I pray the People's plotter interfaces with the main targeting computer. The prototype has been tested well, and the memory singers are able to point claws at moving targets. But it has not been battle tested as the two legs say. This is no joke our lives are at stake, Full of Jokes thought seriously.

We will not let the People down we will adapt and overcome all obstacles, my brothers, Explores Everything thought.

I will not fail my brothers even though I am a two leg, Tommy thought.

We trust you brother, all the cats thought. His week with the Bright Water Clan's cats had instilled their confidence in Always a Kitten, and although they could not taste his sincerity they had grown to know, like, and trust him. He might not be of the people but they saw him as a good person. Tommy and the cats were all anxious, a quick month of training, and the Death Fangs would go to war.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Black Rock Clan Vengeance Squadron's Death Fang Class LACs landed aboard the LAC Carrier HMS _Defiant_. Breaking the tradition that the senior officer is the first out of the tube Tommy landed on the deck-plate first. Tommy walked to, came to attention in front of, and saluted the OD Lieutenant JG May saying, "Ensign Always a Kitten and the Black Rock Clan Vengeance Squadron request permission to come board, sir."

The Officer of the Deck had practiced the signs for permission to board ceremony, and had expected the treecat Lieutenant Jason not a six-year-old kid in an Ensign's uniform, but Tommy was what he got. "Permission granted. I thought you would all be cats what did they do rob the cradle to get a human to talk for them, kid?"

Tommy bristled at being called a kid, but not nearly as much as Jason who walked stiffly on all six limbs, fur bristled, ears folded back, extended claws clicking on the deck-plate, and his lips pulled back showing his fangs. When he arrived he reversed arch of his back freeing his true hands, and signed with extended claws flashing. "You will treat Ensign Always a Kitten with proper respect Lieutenant Junior Grade, or I shall either put you on report for insolence, or rend you myself! Now apologize to the Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade!" The twin silver bars of a full Lieutenant flashing from the sides of his white collar.

The Lieutenant JG gulped, two-hundred obviously very angry treecats were converging on him. Their extended claws clicking on the deck-plate sounded like old style chemical propellant machine guns, as all the bay sailors watched the drama in stunned silence. "I'm s-sorry I can't read your signs, but I a-apologize for any error, Sir."

Always a Kitten translate for me. and Tommy did, "We thought you humans would not be able to read our signs, and so we had Ensign Always a Kitten do the coming aboard ceremony rather than me. Ensign Always a Kitten was a sex slave for a perverted two leg, but he is now an Ensign in the RMN, and as such you and the other officers aboard will treat him with respect. If you do not either I will put them on report for breach of military courtesy, or we all will rend them with our claws and fangs. Am I clear Lieutenant Junior Grade?"

The terrified OD nodded his head, and Jason through Tommy continued, "Now apologize to Ensign Always a Kitten, or die."

The OD gulped knowing the angry cats were deadly serious, "M-My a-apologies Ensign Always a Kitten." Turning back to Jason, "I-I-It will never happen again, sir."

"See that is doesn't, and inform the other two leg officers, Lieutenant Junior Grade," Tommy translated. The cats retracted their claws and their ears and fur returned to normal at varying speeds. Some were still in full battle readiness rage when the lift ding sounded.

The lift arrived with Admiral Alexander-Harrington, Nimitz, Captain Andrew Jackson Honor's new Flag Captain, and COLAC John Simpson. Seeing many obviously still angry cats surrounding the clearly terrified OD Captain Jackson asked, "What to hell is going on here Lieutenant May?"

"M-My fault, sir. Ensign Always a Kitten reported the cat squadron aboard rather than Lieutenant Jason who I practiced the signs for, and well, sir, he looks like my kid brother in a sailor suit, sir. Well I used kid rather than his rank in the coming aboard ceremony, and the cats took extreme umbrage to that, sir."

Jason was signing to Honor, without the Lieutenant's excuses, the same story, but with his threats. He also said the cats would take personal umbrage if the crew and officers of the _Defiant_ did not treat Ensign Always-a-Kitten with proper respect.

Admiral Alexander-Harrington knew that umbrage could lead to deaths after the incident on Saganami Island, as it almost had on this very deck moments ago, and ordered, "Captain Jackson issue a general order that although Ensign Always a Kitten looks like a six-year-old in a sailor suit he is a real RMN Ensign and will be treated as such on pain of death."

"WHAT?"

"These cats have and will kill anyone who attacks Ensign Always a Kitten he is a treasure to them, a small non mind blind human, but without an interfearing mind glow to deflect their memory singers from detecting and ploting cloaked enemy ships. He is their voice, and vital to the security of this fleet. The cats might consider disrespect to him an attack kicking in their kitten protective instinct, and if that instinct is engaged the man or woman doing it will become their next meal. The pressedent that such instinctual killings are justifiable homiside under Manticoreian law has already been set. Am I clear, Captain Jackson?"

"Yes, Admiral."

"Good, see to it then, Captain Jackson."

"Aye-aye, Admiral."

General orders were one thing, but the skutlebutt from the stories of the Black Rock Clan Vengeance Squadron's LAC bay crews in the wardrooms, goat lockers, and enlisted messes carried a warning, "Mess with or disrespect Ensign Always a Kitten, and this is no shit, you will die, and those damn cats will eat you alive." and this carried a lot more weight with the crew. These spacemen had intergrated with newly graduated spacecats for a month now, and they knew cats better now, and the rest of the crew blieved them. Because of the importance of the memory singers in the detection of the cloaked enemy Honor had transferred her flag to the HMS _Defiant_, and the crew knew of the cats' importance to the fleet.

There was also an intergrated cat-human company of marines aboard, and each squad had one or two treecat marines serving with it. The whole company could read cat sign language from the cats. The cats wore newly made special body armor with retractable claws in combat as firearms for cats were not available yet. Prototypes were in the works, but cat anatomy and firearms design needed a lot of tweeking before cat firearms went into production. The cats loved the clawed powered body armor, and thus generating the treecat nickname for marines, 'silver claws'. Human marine nicknames were jar heads or leather necks for no reason the cats could understand, but they knew the tearms anyway, and the humans soon embraced the cats' nickname 'silver claws' too. In fact the company's three armored pinances, were eventually named Silver Claws 1-3, the three shuttles named Silver Claws 4-6. They were in the same greatly reconfigured bay as the Death Fang class LACs. This first mixed company of cats and humans were officially called the Raging Treecats, but with time they were more frequently called the Silver Claws by human and cat alike by the crew of the HMS _Defiant_.

Quarters designed for treecats adjoined the bay along with quarters for the human marines, Tommy lived with the cats in the common nest, but often ate with the marines sick of grilled rabbit and cellery stew. Tommy even though a 'squid' was rapidly accepted by the marines in their mess although fear of the cats provided his initial acceptance. The cat marines ate and slept with their fellow cats in the nest as did Tommy as he was the only human who could stand in the nest they got few visitors. Captain Jessie Jenkins RMMC wore the same two silver bars as Jason, both he and his marines, and Jason and his cats were new strange elements on the LAC carrier. Since he could sign, both groups were initally outsiders and shuned, and misory loves company he and Jason became fast friends on the voyage to Mesa.

Thanks to help from the ROH missile production was approaching pre-atack levals, infact the RoHN learned to make many new toys from their RMN allies, but alliances are always a two way streets as formmer enemies became good friends. The fact that Mesa had spured wars between them helped bury hard feelings on both sides. Many of Honor's Eighth Fleet's ships with ships from the RoHN, AEN, and of course the Grayson to form Honor's now Joint Fleet 1.

A day later the First Joint Fleet sailed in harms way for it was time to pay Mesa back, with interest. They would stop in Spindle System to confer with Admiral Henke before going to Mesa to get the latest intellegence on Mesa. Mike was two and one and the one loss was closest, and Honor wanted to chear her old firend up. Mike's report on a treecat spoting the enemy trap filled her with hope for the current mission, but she wanted some reassurance. Besides Ensign Rachel Mayhew GSN would have a job she was uniquely qualified for teaching a bunch of nearly wild treecats proper manners. Tension between the cats and humans was building, mostly because cats didn't know how to act arround humans, and most of the crew did not know how to interact with the cats. Captain Jackson was still upset over the insident in the Death Fang's bay. Maybe tonights dinner would help.

Tommy was very unconfortable at dinner, and woundered what he had done wrong, the other human officers were all looking at him. "I forgot Tommy did not go to officer training and he dosen't know he has to make the toast to the Queen. You better tell him he's susposed to propose the toast to the Queen now, Jason," Honor whispered into Jason's ear.

Allways a Kitten the lowest ranking officer starts dinner by proposing a toast to Soul of Steel. Stand, raise your wine glass, say 'To Soul of Steel,' and drink your wine.

Tommy stood, raised his wine glass, and said, "To Soul of Steel." The other officers looked even more dissaprovingly at him.

Honor said, "My fault Ladies and Gentlemen Ensign Always a Kitten dosent know the proper toast, and Jason must have used her treecat name when he told Tommy to make the Toast. To the Queen." And she sipped her wine, the others followed suit, the treecats just nodding their agreement with the toast before sipping. Honor sat and continued, "This little miscommunication illistrates our problem intergrating two species with very different cultures and ways of communication. The treecats have no word for Queen they know our word, but translate it to the name of the individual, and so Jason used her treecat name 'Soul of Steel' to Tommy. Some of you took offence. Two days ago Jason intrepreted Lieutenant JG May's use of the word kid as an insult to Tommy, and rushed to protect his little brother. Given time, patience, and good will this will on both sides we can become a team using the strength of each to make a more powerful whole. Ladies and Gentlemen 'To interspecies understanding, may we all work to achieve it.'" She drank the second toast,

All the others nodded or repeated, "To interspecies understanding, may we all work to achieve it."

The conversation turned to that goal, Tommy translating for the cats, on how to accomplish that. Most ideas had a fatal flaw, to generate understanding the two groups had to interact socially, but most of the officers and crew of the _Difiant_ did not know sign language, and there was only one of Tommy to translate into spoken English. They did what they could, and progress was made in the three weeks to the Spindle System. Sign language courses helped fill the gap, but humans learned much more slowly than cats without memory singers.

On the first day in hyperspace Gunnery Seargent Bert Thomkins saw his two drawn cards did not improve his hand, but three of a kind was worth a quarter bet. He slid in a quarter saying, "I bet a qwarter."

Tommy pushed in a Manticoreian twenty-five cent coin to join the others in the pot, saing, "Call," even knowing his two of a kind would not beat the seargent's three of a kind. Tommy susspected he had three of a kind since he drew two cards.

Chief Petty Officer Kelly Addams said, "I see your quarter and raise you another quarter." A pure bluff with a busted flush

Petty Officer Moe, Broken Branch Grabber, slid in a Manticoreian dollar bill, and took a quarter out of the pot, and signed, "See your fifty cents and bump you a quarter." Marines and Bay sailors had the most practice with sign language and understood the cats 'speech' best

Gunnery Seargent Bert Thompkins who had put in the first quarter threw his cards face down, saying, "Too rich for me to stay in."

Tommy folded without comment, and Chief Addams put in another quarter, "I think your bluffing, call."

Moe bleeked a laugh and put his cards down face up, a full house.

Chief Addams put his cards down a busted flush. "Shit I should know better than to play poker with a furry mind reader.

Moe singed, "Not read mind you mind blind, but feel dissapointment when you drew the club. Always a Kitten had two pair, he not have poker face on last draw even though he has no glow, I see in his face. We cats can play poker with each other, we can control our mind glows. With you two legs is easy prey you can't control your mind glow. You see emotions on face so control face make poker face, but you have not developed a 'poker mind' at all."

Chief Addams said, "You're cheating, Moe."

Tommy translated Moe's reply at his request, "Moe says he's no more cheating than you do with young inexprienced players without a poker face. Keep playing with us cats and you'll get a poker mind, or not have enough money to play poker."

Gunney Thompkins said, "He's right about that, Chief. Did he tell you to fold, Tommy?"

Tommy said, "No, but he knew what I had two pair, and bet anyway. So I folded my hand."

Chief Addams asked, "How'd you know he wosen't bluffing, sir?"

"The cats have been playing with each other, they know glow control they have a poker mind already, but a bluff is a lie and a lie they can taste almost all the time, so they don't try to bluff. They can't taste me, but I have no poker face so I lose a lot."

Gunney Thomkins asked, "Then why play, son?"

Tommy laughed, and said, "It's the only game in town, gunney." They all shared a laugh even Moe Beeking.

A few days later the cats taught humans treecat frisby in return for more lessons in poker, they found out what a rough game was. Soon even battle hardened jar heads refused to play.

COLAC John Simpson said to Honor, "If the cats fight like that God help the Mesans."

Honor laughed, "There's not enough room for a real rough game, John. You want to see a rough game go to Honor Tree City Park. It's a good thing the hospital is across the pedestrian avenue some times arteries get accidentally cut."

Ensign Always a Kitten caught a throw from Moe and sent it on to Larry who sent it on to Curly who took it over the goal line. The cats cheered, a slightly different bleek than a laugh, Jason thought, Tommy the silver claws are getting rough so you better go watch, send in Root Biter, and I'm sorry but we cannot afford to lose you now that we have found you." Several of the marine cats were on the human team, and they were experts at the game and its dirty tricks.

Tommy sat with Phyllis Diller an apprentice memory singer, his watch's cook, and the _Death Fang's Bane's_ medic, her treecat name was Bright Eyes, and her black collar had the three golden chevrons of a Petty Officer. Tommy thought to her Well bright eyes Explores Everything thinks the People on the silver claw team might injure me, and since I'm so valuable I now get to sit and watch the game.

You at least got to start, Always a Kitten, those big powerful males will not let Sings Brightly and me even start. She huffed her contempt at the cold cruel universe, and continued, Our time in the sun is coming when we render the enemy, and show our value as warriors. You Always a Kitten will be the voice of the memory singers letting the two-legs know when we discover the hidden enemy. Is it true that there are more humans like you who are not mind blind and have no glow?

There are more like me who are not mind blind at least among us sex slaves. As to the glow since I cannot taste glows those others like me who are not mind blind share thoughts, but I have no way of knowing if they are glow blind, or even if emit glows or not, Bright Eyes. I suspect we are all glow blind, but some may emit glows and I would not know it.

If your fellow slaves are freed will they join us in our fight?

Some will and some will not, not all of the People are here either.

True, but you say some of those who can help us will volunteer?

We hate what has been done to us, but as essentially children we cannot fight back. Give them a chance to fight back, and they will take it. Were you in our place would you not take the chance to fight back?

Phyllis drew back in shock thinking about being so abused by others without a way to fight back, and then bleeked a laugh, Yes, I would grab such a chance with all twenty-four claws.

Three short days were spent in the Spindle system, Admiral Henke joined the expedition, the official reason to consult with the latest intelligence on the enemy, and having the most recent experience in the Mesan system. The real reason was Honor needed to cheer her life long friend up, her big loss in the last battle of Mesa had badly shaken her confidence, and frankly Honor needed a friend along to talk to.

A new ensign joined the Death Fangs, Rachel Mayhew GSN, her treecat companion, Hipper, and of course the Grayson Arms Men expected to accompany the Protector's eldest daughter. Her duty was to help intergrate the human and treecat elements into a naval whole. She had thought about the assignment. First treecats could understand human speech, however they could not produce the sounds needed to speak, but they had learned sign language. Second humans could neither understand nor produce the cats' mental speech, but most humans aboard did not know the cats' sign language.

Solution teach the humans the cats' sign language, simple? Wrong! For although many of the crew joined her classes to be able to understand the cats' sign language there was resistance, pride, lazyness, and arrogance provided reasons for some crew and officers to not learn the cats' language. In the end a full third of the crew remained ignorant of the cats' language, culture, and direct communication with the cats as such they were fertile ground for ethnocentrisim againt the cats.

Rachel and a few marine volenteers taught sign language classes, Hipper, some spacecats, and silver claws volenteered to sign to strudents so they could paractice communicating with a real live cat. During the month long hyperspace voyage to the Mesan System a third of the officers and crew of HMS _Defiant _became fluent in sign language often befriending one or more cats and having long discussions. The other third had varing flueancy from close to fluent to knowing just enough signs for brief stilted conversations, and the minimum needed to work with a cat.

The segment from Spindle to Mesa would require one and a half months even in hyper so Rachel and her volenteer teachers had plenty of time to teach sign language. The poker games continued, Ensign Always a Kitten, Chief Addams, Gunney Thompkins, and Chief Moe were the core group with two or three others joining.

PFC Frankenstein's treecat name was Bloody Claw. He had attacked a death fang in an attempt to save his mate, and although he killed the beast his mate died. Usually a mate would have starved themselves to death, but the attack that destroyed the Black Rock Clan had so enraged the people he had joined the marines. The death fang had scared his face, so the marines called him Frankenstein after an old story of a sewn together monster. Gunney Thompkins had brought him along to play poker.

PFC Jack the Ripper's treecat name was Long Hunter. The marines orriginaly called him just Jack, but in his first battle armor practice attack he grabed the dummy with the claws of his four uper limbs and gutted it with his back claws becoming Jack the Ripper.

Ordanary Spacecat Herman's treecat name was Bough Runner. He worked in the bay under Chief Addams, and had came to the poker game with him. He had two pair but had not drawn neither an ace nor a six. He slid in a quarter, signing, "I bet a quarter."

Gunney Thompkins slid in another quarter saying, "Call." He had drawn two cards to try for a full house, but had drawn an six and a duse.

OSC Herman lay his cards face down, signing "Fold."

Chief Addams had drawn two fours to go with his three nines, he put in two quarters, and said, "See your quarter and raise you a quarter."

Tommy lay his hand face down saying, "Fold."

PFC Frankenstein lay his hand face down signing, "I fold. If the next dealer gives me another lousey hand I may as well go back to my rack."

Moe had taken a chance to fill an inside straight, and not only got it, but the heart gave him a seven high straight flush, he pushed three quarters in the pot signing, "See your fifty cents and raise you a quarter."

Jack the Ripper lay his cards down, and signed "Fold."

Gunney Thompkins and Chief Addams folded. Moe put his cards down face down, scooped up the pot, but leaving a quarter to start the next pot. The others matched Moe's quarter as Gunney Thompkins slid his quarter in gathered the cards, shuffeled them, and allowing OSC Herman to cut the deck before dealing.

Tommy asked, "Gunney Chief you have been in battle before is it normal for your stomach to be, ugh queesy?"

Gunney Thompkins answered, "Any one going in harm's way gets a queesy stomach. Only fools are not afraid of battle. Bravery is not being unafraid it is just living with your fear and carring out your duties anyway, Tommy."

I knew my mate and I would die anyway when I attacked the death fang, but I wished to die with her, Frankenstein sighed. It was desperation not bravery that drove me to attack a death fang alone, but even desiring death I had the queesy stomach none the less.

"What did Frankenstein say?" Gunney Thompkins seeing Tommy look at Bloody Claw asked. Tommy translated exactly, and the gunney continued, "That happens in battle too. A fellow thinks he's dead anyway so he attacks the enemy. That's how heros are made, desperation." He pinted to the Navy Cross on his tunic, the second highest award in naval service, and said, "That's how I earned this one. No way to servive so to hell with it I'll take some of the dirty bastards with me, but I did survive." The game and small talk continued, and the cats were intergrating into the small community of the hanger bay well if not the ship as a whole.

Tommy wearing his skin suit under his uniform and with helmet on sat at his communication console. _Death Fang's Bane_ sat sleek and deadly in her launch bay, her crew fully suited and the ship depressurized for instant battle after they launched.

"Hyper transition in ten-nine-eight …" the ship's anouncer droned down the countdown, and then they were in normal space. The anouncer droned on, "Launch death fangs." Tommy could see stars after his window cleared the launch bay.

Tommy report no enemy contacts yet," Sings Brightly thought.

Tommy pressed a stud, one of the few that put a communication station in direct contact with Admiral Alexander-Harrington. "The mind singers report no enemy in mind range yet, Admiral."

"Thanks, death fangs, but keep searching, over and out." Admiral Alexander-Harrington touched the fleet wide stud on her arm rest. "No enemy yet detected launch regular spy drones, and proceed as planed." She leaned back and turned to Mike, "So far so good, Mike"

Admiral Michelle Henke RMN and Countess Gold Peak (Mike) said, "Just what I said just before I got my butt kicked. These are serious enemies Honor, and mean bastards to boot."

The death fangs formed their globe formation and now orbited the fleet arround the fleet's axis of flight. The globe formation orbiting the fleet gave the mind singers clear mind views of space in a three million mile diameter globe around the fleet. For an hour the fleet just sailed toward Mesa, and then, Sings Brightly stiffened, and began to enter numbers into the People's plot. Always a Kitten inform Admiral Dances on Clouds we have located twenty-four cloaked enemy ships. Have her activate the People's plot.

The short one sided battle saw eight cloaked enemy ships destroyed and the enemy's command ship englobed by the death fangs. Tommy worried is voice, that of a six-year-old, might not be ruff enough to demand the surrender of the single enemy survivor, "Mesan ship surrender or be destroyed you are centered in our globe." The Death Fangs demanded the surrender while still awaiting the slower Silver Claw # 1 with its marine and a naval boarding party to take control of the damaged enemy command ship.

Admiral Topolev of the Mesan Alignment Navy sat on the bridge of the powerless damaged _Mako_, and even with power his cloaked ship was much slower than the LACs surrounding him. Worse the enemy proved they could see through the cloak, and all his antimissile missiles were gone in the futile attempt to stop the Mantie missile swarm. His mouth opened in stunned disbelief as the surrender demand, from a kid no less, came in on the clear com. He thought _The _Manties_ must be robbing the cradle! None the less we must surrender, but how could this happen we nearly destroyed the first Mantie fleet sent against us?_ Having no desire to uselessly die for Mesa he keyed the mike, "Mesan Alignment Navy Ship _Mako_ surrenders."

"Destroy no files, memory banks, or equipment, and prepare to be boarded by approaching penance. You are prisoners of the Sphinxian League of Clans' Death Fang Squadron Number One."

This polite fiction had been developed during conversations between Admiral Alexander-Harrington and Lieutenant Jason. Jason had pointed out through Tommy the fact that, "We cats of the Sphinxian League of Clans have not signed the Deneb Accords, and even if we were signatories the destruction of the Black Rock Clan was by an orbital kinetic weapon, and is a clear violation of the Deneb Accords by Mesans anyway. Thus we cats will be freer to interrogate their prisoners with, ugh, more vigor than you two legs of the RMN might dare."

PFC Frankenstein was the first aboard the MANS _Mako_, and he ran for engineering his two leg squad mates running, but still unable to keep up. A MAN PO had just finished smashing a control panel when Frankenstein sprang; his battle steel claws extended, and in one swipe he took out the man's throat. As the rest of the squad arrived Frankenstein signed with his bloody claws still extended, "I read the malevolent mind glow of that two leg, he knew he was violating the surrender, but thought we could do nothing, Gunny. They all know better now."

The MAN engineering officer angrily said, "That animal just murdered Petty Officer Blake without warning!"

Gunnery Seargent James Thompkins replied, "The conditions of your surrender included not destroying equipment, your crewman broke his parole with the cats, and he paid the price."

"But the Deneb Accords require a trial before executing a prisoner for violation of parole!"

Gunny Thompkins laughed, and finally said, "The cats are not signatories of the Deneb Accords, and even if they were a treecat clan was destroyed by orbital derbies bombardment as a result of your sneak attack the Christmas before last. Cats are not civilized, but are intelligent carnivorous hunting predators, and a terrible enemy that you created for yourselves. Now sit on the floor over there with your hands on your heads. Watch'em, Frankenstein." The now totally cowed enemy sat hands on head before a now sitting Frankenstein his still extended battle steel fore claws still bloody as he nervously clicked them on the deck plate. The Gunny turned to the other marines, "Frankenstein and I will watch the engineering section while you go report what happened here to the LT, and then bring that squid engineer and his boys back here."

CPO Davis arrived with two ratings, "What a mess, I take it that was the hammer guy well the bastard got what was coming to him. Gunny call for a tug we'll be at repairs for days at least." Looking at the sitting prisoners, he continued, "And Gunny, leave the Engineer and a couple of ratings to help, but get the rest to the brig."

Gunny Tompkins said, "Right, Chief. Pick your ratings, and I'll take the rest back to the Silver Claw One. I'll call the LT and have him call us a tow truck right away, and I'll leave Frankenstein here to keep your 'volunteers' properly motivated, ugh, you do understand cat signs?"

"We all do it was a mission requirement." Davis turned to the cat and signed, "You can scratch to motivate. but don't kill unless I give the order. We need their knowledge. Let me know if they are trying anything cute." He tapped the engineering officer, and two ratings saying, "You three just volunteered to help clean up this mess. I wouldn't try anything cute Frankenstein here reads minds, and you already know he has a nasty temper. Oh, words to the wise if you play poker with him bring lots of money." CPO Davis had lost his shirt twice to Frankenstein at the evening poker games.

Frankenstein bleeked a laugh, but he kept his predatory eyes on the prisoners. That unblinking green eyed slit pupil treecat stare from a bared fanged bloody clawed known killer was unnerving to the MAN prisoners. Those not selected were happy to go with the Gunny to a nice safe brig as far away from PFC Frankenstein as possible, or so they thought.

CPO Davis ordered, "Off your duffs we got work to do." The MAN Engineer was thinking of protesting, but a growl from Frankenstein silenced the protest.

Jack the Ripper was with the LT on the bridge, three MAN prisoners were aiding in the repairs, and the cat would keep them honest. The LT had just ordered a tug, while other marines were escorting prisoners to the Silver Claw One for a ride to HMS _Defiant's_ brig, and he turned to Gunny Tompkins, "Gunny I'm leaving you in charge of the marines here, you'll have the two cats and two other PFCs any preference?"

"Baen and Roberts they work well with Jack the Ripper and Frankenstein, and can shoot if it comes to that."

"OK I'll send them up, be nice to Ensign Mathews he's a good kid, and keep Frankenstein and Jack the Ripper from fleecing the lad in poker."

The gunny laughed, "That pair will teach him good, might be an expensive lesson, but he will learn from the best. I already warned the engineering prisoners about playing with Frankenstein, and I'll put a buzz in Ensign Mathews' ear about playing with cats too. But what else we got to do here while we wait but play poker, LT."

Ensign Mathews came in, he looked as young as Tommy Always a Kitten just taller, and said, "My first command too bad she can't move under her own power. Your prisoners are loaded so see you latter Lieutenant Jefferson."

Even though a butter bar himself Jefferson was not as green as Ensign Mathews, "I'll send Baen and Roberts up, gunny." He shook Mathews' hand, "Good luck on your first command, Ensign. I'm leaving you five good marines to keep the Mesans honest. Now with your permission Captain I'll be on my way." At Mathews' nod he came to attention, saluted, preformed a parade ground about face, and hurriedly left the bridge before he laughed in the serious kid's face.

Jason detached _Blue Mountain Dancing Clan's Revenge_ under Lieutenant JG Dahlgren (Branch Strider) to watch over the wounded shark and tug, and returned with the rest of the squadron at a thousand gravities to the fleet to resume watching for the cloaked enemy. The next four hours was spent in tense waiting, the memory singers sensed the enemy vaguely, but could not pin point them. During this time the Silver Claw One returned to the _Defiant_ with its prisoners, the tug had the captured shark under tow and was slowly returning to the fleet, and Jason sent half the squadron at a time back to the _Defiant_ to replenish reaction mass while the other half orbited the fleet searching for the cloaked enemy.

Five hours after the death fangs rejoined the fleet Sings Brightly began to enter data into the People's plot Always a Kitten we have two enemy flotillas of nine ships on plot for a total of eighteen enemy ships inform Dances on Clouds.

Tommy Always a Kitten spoke into his mike, "Admiral Alexander-Harrington, the memory singers have located another two enemy flotillas of nine ships for a total of eighteen cloaked enemy ships. They're on the treecat plot now, Admiral."

Using classic defensive techniques the enemy had divided their system protective fleet into three flotillas, one near each pole perpendicular to the system's orbital plane, and a third near the system's orbital plane's hyper limit near where Admiral Henke's fleet appeared during the first battle of Mesa. Had more sharks been available more flotillas would have ringed the circumfrence of the system's orbital plane. The third flotilla on the system's orbital plane was the first destroyed, and now the two polar flotillas were attacking the Manticoran fleet together.

The engagement was again brief the eighteen sharks were destroyed before they could attack with their own short range missiles by the fleet's massive Orion missile barrage. As they already had a shark for study all eighteen were destroyed. Shuttles were soon delivering pods from one of the massive ammunition ships to make room for the crippled shark captured in the first engagement currently still under tow.

Jason thought, Always a Kitten go and get some sleep, but stay in your skin suit with helmet on. I'm rotating the crew for rest, but we are still in battle condition. Jason also called Moe to relieve Groucho who had been piloting the demanding station keeping and orbiting the fleet for ten hours now. The rest of Port Watch was also ordered to rest. In four hours Port Watch would take over for Starboard Watch going to watch and watch extended operations mode.

Tommy stopped by the pressurized dining room for a quick meal removing his helmet to eat after coming through the air-lock. He nodded to Phyllis Diller, Harpo, Chico, Laurel, and Hardy also helmet-less grabbing a quick meal. See you cats in three and a half hours, Tommy thought to his watch after finishing his meal and putting on his helmet. The cats were licking their paws and washing their fur after eating. Tommy went to his cabin for an exhausted nap.

Daniel Detweiler had examined the sensor recordings of both engagements, the sensor detecting the cloaked sharks was obviously among the LACs orbiting the enemy fleet, and probably in the outermost one. That particular LAC had maintained that position since the Manti fleet appeared. He had modified Ghost Class Scout adding a powerful graser bow gun, and as luck would have it Commodore Karol Østby and his crew were on the research station determining if the graser modification should be put in all the scout ships. If they could take out that LAC the five remaining sharks had a chance of doing the enemy some damage, and perhaps even driving them away from the Mesa System altogether.

Luck was with Commodore Karol Østby the more powerful stealth fields prevented the mind singers from detecting his craft, and he closed to graser range on the _Death Fang's Bane._ He carefully maneuvered his ship to attack the vulnerable side wall just aft of the bridge's clear shield. The graser tore a hole clear through both sides of the LAC's thin hull, the beam and splinters killing Captain Explores Everything, Lieutenant JG Sings Brightly the Mind Singer, and Tactical Chief Petty Officer Far Hunter instantly. Of the bridge crew only Moe was alive although wounded by a sharp shard of hull, but he acted instantly rolling the ship to impose the impeller wedge, his cat reflexes faster than any two leg, the ship rolled faster than humanly possible. Then he hit the tactical repeater on the helm, the graser's heat highly visible he fired missiles destroying the attacker, and Commodore Karol Østby's lucky streak ended abruptly. Only then with his blood boiling from his torn skin suit did Moe deploy an emergency survival bubble, and then crawling inside he finally managed to seal it just before losing consciousness.

The jolt of the attack had knocked Tommy from his bunk to the deck-plate after only an hour of sleep. He got up, and in the hall met the rest of his rudely awakened Port Watch and Chief Petty Officer Pilot & Navigator Chief of the Starboard Watch Groucho. Let's go to the bridge and find out what that was, Tommy thought.

The bridge was a charnel house, Tommy was now Captain of the _Death Fang's Bane_, and he ordered, Phyllis Diller, take Moe to the sick bay, Curly and Shemp, help her.

The mass of the enemy debris is much less than those of the ships we have already destroyed. This must be a different class of enemy ship, sir. Black Paws thought from the Tactical Station.

Tommy, still somewhat in shock, went to his miraculously undamaged communications station, sat down and flicked the stud, "Captain Yamamoto, Captain Explores Everything, Lieutenant JG Sings Brightly the Mind Singer, and Tactical Chief Petty Officer Far Hunter are dead so you are now squadron commander. If you send Ensign Pretty Boy to take command here I'll transfer to your ship for communications. _Death Fang's Bane_ is too damaged to remain with the squadron, and will have to return to the bay for extensive repair."

A typed message slowly appeared, COMEING, PREPARE TO TRANSFER, ALWAYS A KITTEN. ANY IDEA HOW THE ENEMY ELUDED OUR MIND SINGERS?

Tommy replied, "Not a clue, sir. Chief Petty Officer Second Pilot & Navigator Broken Branch Grabber was the only survivor on the bridge, he's unconscious now, but I doubt he knows either. However quickly he reacted to the attack it was obvious the bridge crew had not detected the enemy before they fired on us. This is another class of ship than we have encountered before, and Black Paws says the mass of the enemy debris is much less than those of the ships we have encountered already."

Tommy thought, Chases Leaves [Groucho,] Take command until relieved by Ensign Bark Shredder [Pretty Boy.] Prepare to return to the _Defiant_ I'll inform Admiral Alexander-Harrington. Picking up the mike, hitting the stud for the Admiral, and Tommy said, "Admiral, _Death Fang's Bane_ is damaged and returning to the _Defiant_. I'm transferring to the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_ for communications, and Pretty Boy is transferring here to command the _Death Fang's Bane_. Casualties as follows, CPO Moe wounded found unconscious in a survival bubble, I'll write a citation he saved the ship although wounded, and he barely made it into a survival bubble. The dead are Captain Jason, Memory Singer Minnie, and Tactical Chief Petty Officer Zeppo. The attacking ship's debris show a mass less than those ships we have encountered, and the cloaking is better even eluding the Memory Singers. Warn the fleet we may not feel the mind glow of all the enemy, and sudden attack is possible. The enemy ship was armed with a small graser."

Tommy could hear Nimitz's keen for his dead son in the background as Admiral Alexander-Harrington said, "Good luck, I concur with your decision to transfer command of the _Death Fang's Bane_ so you can remain as squadron communicator. We'll talk about Moe's citation after the battle. Over and Out."

Tommy left the bridge stopping to pack his bag in his room, and then going to sick bay to check on his friend Moe. As Tommy came through the air-lock Phyllis Diller said Broken Branch Grabber [Moe] is still unconscious. I have sown up his wound, and am giving him blood, antibiotics, and pain medicine. He is stable and should recover fully although the would will hurt for a few days. Are we returning to the carrier?

Yes, but I'm transferring to the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_ for communications, and Bark Shredder is transferring here to command the _Death Fang's Bane_. I'm sorry to be leaving at a time like this, but the enemy is still out there, and Cluster Stalk Grower will need me. Tell Broken Branch Grabber I'll see him as soon as I can. He saved the ship, and the Admiral said we would talk about a citation for him after the battle.

Broken Branch Grabber did what he did for his clan-mates not a citation, Always a Kitten.

All heroes do what they do for their shipmates two leg or the People makes no difference, Bright Eyes [Phyllis Diller.]

Passing each other in the space between the _Death_ _Fang's Bane_ and the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_ Tommy waved to Bark Shredder, and thought Treat them well, Bark Shredder. They are still in shock. As the only surviving officer I feel I am deserting them.

You are doing your duty to the squadron, and the fleet. I will watch over them, and perhaps this is a permanent trade of assignments. Cluster Stalk Grower will need you for squadron communications more than your crew will need you to 'lick their bristled fur' [a treecat expression roughly equivalent to 'hold their hands'], Always a Kitten.

**Crew of the ****_Black Rock Clan's Revenge_****:**

Officers:

Yamamoto, Cluster Stalk Grower —Captain Lieutenant JG second in command of the first Death Fang Squadron. The only surviving member of the Black Rock Clan

Yoko Ono, Sings Loudly—Memory singer ensign XO of _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_, Starboard Watch commander, and a member of the Bright Water Clan.

Pretty Boy, Bark Shredder—Port Watch Commander, a very handsome cat, and a member of Bright Water Clan. Note: Ensign Tommy Always a Kitten trades places with Pretty Boy here and, is replaced permanently with Annie Pretty Kitten later.

Enlisted Starboard Watch:

Tom, Bristle Back—Chief Petty Officer Pilot & Navigator Chief of the Starboard Watch cross trained as a keyboard communications, and a member of the Sun Leaf Clan

John, Cluster Stalk Biter—Missile PO member of the Fire Runs Fast Clan

Dick, Bad Hunter—Tactical Chief Petty Officer member of the Laughing River Clan

Harry, Big Gut—Cook and Environmental PO member of the Walks in Moonlight Clan

Martin, Bristle Neck—Ordinary Spacecat member of the Bright Water Clan

Lewis, Purple Leaf—Ordinary Spacecat member of the High Crag Clan

Enlisted Port Watch:

Jack Benny, Branch Runner—Chief Petty Officer Second Pilot & Navigator cross trained as a keyboard communications PO. Chief of the Port Watch a member of the Sun Leaf Clan

Carol Burnett, Sparkly Eyes—Medic and second cook apprentice mind singer, Petty Officer a member of the Fire Runs Fast Clan

Fred, Muddy Paws—Missile tech first, and a member of the Bright Heart Clan

Ralph, Fears the Lightning—Electronics Spacecat first, and a member of the Bright Heart Clan

Abbot, Folded Ear—Ordinary Spacecat a member of Blue Mountain Dancing Clan

Costello, Fatso—Ordinary Spacecat a member of the Blue Mountain Dancing Clan

Tommy felt like an interloper on the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_ he knew the crew, even played poker with Bark Shredder and Branch Runner, but he had not trained with them. Even though doing his duty he still felt he was abandoning his crew on the _Death_ _Fang's Bane_. He approached the hatch of his new ship, a ship headed in harm's way, and a crewcat awaited to help him aboard. The crewcat was Jack Benny [Branch Runner] and he was the Starboard Watch's Chief Petty Officer also Pilot, Navigator, and Communications Keyboarder. Tommy was Ensign of the Starboard Watch, and Jack Benny's new commanding officer. Other than a few poker games, and a couple of wild Treecat Frisbee matches they did not know each other. Tommy thought, Permission to come aboard.

Permission Granted, Ensign Always a Kitten. We are all saddened by the deaths of Squadron Commander Explores Everything, Lieutenant JG Sings Brightly the Mind Singer, and Tactical Chief Petty Officer Far Hunter. However you are to report to the bridge immediately, I'll take your bag to your rack, sir.

Thank you, Chief.

Tommy arrived on the bridge in time to see the _Death Fang's Bane_ leave formation to return to the _Defiant_. Ordinary Spacecat Purple Leaf was installing a child's chair in front of the communications console. Squadron Commander Explores Everything had foreseen the need for Tommy to serve on any of the other death fangs so he had ordered chairs stowed on each death fang. Cluster Stalk Grower welcomed him to his crew and expressed is regret at the deaths aboard the _Death Fang's Bane_.

We are all saddened, but as Captain Myers always said at the academy, 'The enemy also has plans, he gets his shots in, shipmates die, and all you can do is carry on with your duty.' So let's carry on, sir.

Now Squadron Commander Cluster Stalk Grower huffed, and thought, I though the old two leg talked too much, but perhaps in this he was correct, Ensign Always a Kitten. I see that Purple Leaf has finished installing your chair, so carry on with your duty, mister. He bleeked a laugh. The cats knew that the term 'mister' was used as a light rebuff or even frank disapproval when addressing an officer of higher rank by one of lower rank or enlisted man or vice versa, but when accompanied with a laugh from a higher ranking officer to a subordinate denoted playful disapproval when a beloved junior officer took on airs above his station. Cats had little patience with pontificating fools, but pontificating kittens were another mater. Others of the bridge crew bleeked their laughter joining their captain.

Suddenly Sings Loudly turned to the plot and began entering vectors from the other mind singers pin pointing cloaked enemy ships. Always a Kitten inform the Admiral five cloaked enemy on plot. Again the fleet's missiles flew, again the enemy was destroyed before firing in return. The other five sharks were leaving the Mesa System as fast as their spider drives with inefficient gravity plates could allow them to accelerate. The acceleration was slow running compared to ships with normal impeller drives and gravity compensators, near walking to normal naval ships, but near standing still to the new Death Fang Class LACs with their Star Flyer inertial compensators whose acceleration was two orders of magnitude greater. Only the limited detection range of the mind singers allowed them to escape.

The sharks were not the only rats leaving the Mesan Alignment's sinking ship. The King Rat AKA Albrecht Detweiler's "private yacht" MANS _Genesis_ was about the size of most navies' battlecruisers, almost as heavily armed, but that didn't prevent it from being one of the most luxuriously appointed vessels in the galaxy. Detweiler's family, a few chosen friends and their families, and enough servants to make them extremely comfortable were preparing to leave the Mesa system before the Manticoran Navy arrived to make escape inpossable. _Genesis_ could out run anything in hyper, but had to reach the hyper limit to kick her heals.

_Genesis'_ acceleration of four hundred and fifty gravities gave Albrecht Detweiler confidence that they would easily reach the hyper limit first, even if the Manticoran Navy gave chase. But unfortunately the Mesans had not encountered the Death Fang Class LACs' full capabilities yet. Shooting missiles at LACs whose acceleration was greater than your missiles' was a loosing proposition and the cats had missiles to fire beyond energy weapon range. In short a single Death Fang Class LAC could take on a heavy battlecruser and win, and a squadron would make short work of one.

Sings Loudly was within mind glow range of the _Genesis_, as it skirted the fleet's course, Always a Kitten inform the Admiral that the leadership of the enemy is on that ship, and we should capture or kill them.

"Admiral Alexander-Harrington, the mind singers say that the enemy leadership is on that ship, and suggests we capture or kill them. The Death Fangs can catch them if we leave now."

"Go get'em, Death Fangs."

The squadron all turned and accelerated at 2,450 gravities, 98% of the maximum theoretical limit, only vengeful carnivores bent on revenge would take such chances, but to the cats the chase was on, and the devil take the hind most.

Daniel Detweiler was enjoying sexual release with his PGT Mary. Mary was skinny, with an extremely fair complexion, with red hair, and lots of freckles, the _Orphan Anne Genotype_ derived from old Earth's Irish stock. Her development was stopped at the age of six, and she has been a friend of Tommy at the crèche. Although mostly boys and girls were friends only with the same sex at that developmental age, she was telepathic and this created their friendship. Of the twenty of their age grade in the 'six-year-old' Crèche, only Mary and Tommy were telepathic. Although in the twelve age grades post developmental age permanence surgery that made them 'six-year-olds' for life there were a total of twenty-five telepaths interactions between age grades were rare. Tommy was of the same genotype but in males it was called the _Tom Sawyer Genotype_ with light skin, freckles, and red hair.

The speaker blared just after Daniel Detweiler's sexual release in his PGT's mouth. Albrecht Detweiler's voice sounded tinny from the speaker, "Dannie get your butt to the bridge at once those damn new Manti LACs are coming for us at an acceleration of nearly twenty-five hundred gravities!"

"Dad, that's faster than our missiles accelerate, they can stand off beyond graser range, and use their own missiles to destroy us. I'll be there soon." He hastily dressed leaving the naked little girl on the bed without a word for to him she was just a sex toy. Mary went to the bathroom rinsed her mouth out, went to her small room, and there put on her tunic, she liked to hide in clothes when she could. She lay on her bunk and dreamed of freedom. _Perhaps the Manti attack will free me that is if the coming battle does not kill me._ She sighed _Oh well_ _I can't do anything to affect the outcome._

The fur ball between the Death Fangs and the Enemy missiles was fast and furious. The Death Fangs piloted by the cats easily avoiding enemy missiles, and pouring in antimissiles of their own to destroy the enemies missiles. Soon the enemy was out of missiles and the cats began to destroy the remaining wall of battles along the ship's sides. Tommy radioed, "Decelerate and surrender to the Sphinxian League of Clans' Death Fang Squadron Number One or be destroyed."

Albrecht asked his son, "Any chance we can escape?"

Daniel answered, "Only if they run out of missiles before they either destroy the drive, or our whole ship. Dad we are defenseless, we can't out run them, and we are out of time. We either surrender or we die."

"And if we surrender how will the Manties treat us?"

"Up to now the Manties have a good record of following the Deneb Accords, but after our sneak attack last year I would not count on that record too much. Also note we will surrender to the Sphinxian League of Clans' Death Fang Squadron Number One who ever to hell they are, and not the Manties. If we fight we die for sure, but with surrender there is a chance of survival, dad."

Albrecht sighed, "Well some chance is better than none I suppose, son." He hit the stud connecting his mike to the enemy via radio. "We are surrendering to the Sphinxian League of Clans' Death Fang Squadron Number One, and will begin to decelerate." He turned to Captain Hayden Milne, and ordered, "Decelerate us, Hayden." Then he depressed the stud for the ship wide intercom, "We are surrendering to the enemy any who wish have time to commit suicide, but destroy any incriminating documents or those giving technical information to the enemy first. Those wishing to surrender destroy any incriminating documents or those giving technical information to the enemy first, and then manumit your slaves for the Manties kill slavers transporting slaves."

After helping to destroy the papers and memory cores that had came from the Mesan research station Mary stood with Daniel Detweiler's other slaves, was handed the papers freeing her, and listened to her former master. "You are all now my hired servants, understand."

"Yes, master." They all chorused in unison for they were all well trained slaves, and the response was automatic. Behind the masks that all slaves wore the thoughts ranged from 'About fucking time,' through 'And I'll quit the first chance I get,' to 'I'll find a way to get back at you, you bastard!' As none of the other servants were telepathic Mary heard none of them in her mind, but she thought, _Now that I'm free what will I do. I'm a kid who will hire me as anything but a child sex toy_. That bitter thought and the reality behind it extinguished the joy of realizing her dream of freedom. The slower Silver Claws two and three were still an hour from boarding the enemy battlecruser, but had began to decelerate to the enemies speed.

Mary had again relieved her 'master's?' tension' had again washed out her mouth, and yet again put on her tunic. She sat in the main room of the suite to open the door when the Manties came. Her master had said, "I'll lay here for a while, you answer the door. Don't be afraid I doubt even as pissed off as the Manties are that they will kill a little girl."

The door bell rang; it was a Royal Manticoran Marine in a hardened skin suit. He rasised the muzzle of his weapon and asked, "Whose suite is this, little girl?"

"Daniel Detweiler's he's the head of the Mesan Alliance's Research Department, but he ordered us to destroy all the research records he brought with him from the research station . And I'm not a little girl I'm, twenty-one, and was his PGT. He freed all us slaves after the surrender so you wouldn't kill him as a slaver, but he is one. All of the other 'hired servants' aboard were slaves when we came aboard and slaves until just after the surrender. I hope you kill him and the others as slavers they all are especially the Detweilers who practically own Man Power Inc. Our master treated us all as furniture or toys not as human beings."

The Marine's face behind his clear steel helmet changed from shock to hate, "We are separating the masters from servants, and you'll be kept separate, but the officers will decide what to do with the masters. Since you might be needed for testimony you'll be kept in the brig too, but don't worry you'll get out eventually." Marry nodded her understanding, and smiled her master looked to get what was coming to him.

Mary got her first glimpse of a treecat guarding the important Mesan prisoners as she passed the hatch. The servants had two human guards, and Mary, always curious, asked one of the guards about the strange small six legged creature.

"They're Sphinxian treecats and make marines mean as hell too. Guy on the first ship we took was smashing panels in engineering after the surrender one of the cats cut his throat no muss no fuss. Now find a seat please."

Tommy now had the silver bar of a Lieutenant JG, officially Captain of the _Death Fang's Bane_ although he would stay with the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_ while his badly damaged ship was repaired. For the first time in two days the whole squadron had stood down, and all the captains wanted to see their prisoners, and so they were going to the brig area of the HMS _Defiant_.

Mary had been in the brig just over a day when the door opened, Tommy and the nine other captains of the Death Fangs came in. She recognized the face of her friend instantly, but did not want to call others attention to herself, so she used her telepathic voice, Tommy is that you? It's me Mary.

All the cats and Tommy turned to her. It's me, hey do you want a job with the cats you speak their language.

The cats have a language?

Cluster Stalk Grower said, Of course we do ignorant two leg and we are speaking it now. I am Cluster Stalk Grower, and I offer you an Ensign's birth on my ship the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_ are you interested?

Best offer I've had all day, ugh, Cluster Stalk Grower?

Yes, Pretty Kitten that's my name. Lieutenant Yamamoto had given Mary her treecat name. Always a Kitten, tell the jailor to release Pretty Kitten.

"Jailor release this girl."

"No can do without an order from the Admiral, Lieutenant." The nine cat captains, and the two silver claws converged on him, ears back, fur bristled, backs arched, and claws clicking on the deck plates. A very frightened jailor asked, "What's going on with these cats?"

"The girl speaks their language like me, they just adopted her as their kitten, you refused to release her and thus became a danger to their kitten, and so they preparing to kill and eat you."

The now terrified jailor said, "I'll let her out, but you should have told me the cats wanted her out these are officially their prisoners, lieutenant."

"Lieutenant Yamamoto says that I am the voice of the cats, and to consider any orders from me as from the cats concerning the prisoners."

"Ugh, Yes, Sir!"

Mary and Tommy hugged and kissed each other like brother and sister, and since they were essentially from the same genotype were essentially brother and sister. Their only difference was Mary had two X chromosomes while Tommy had an X and a Y chromosome.

Cluster Stalk Grower not fully mollified from his encounter with the insolent jailor, and thought gruffly, Enough kitten caressing it is work time. Pretty Kitten, this is Branch Runner a silver claw, he will take you to get you in uniform, fill out your paperwork, and bring you to your quarters in our nest. Branch Runner, guard Pretty Kitten, kill any threats, and take her where she needs to go. This is your job until you are relieved. He waited until the pair left the brig, turned to Tommy You will keep Ensign Bark Shredder for your crew's new Starboard Watch Commander, and we'll assign memory singer Ensign Thunder Voice as your new second in command and Port Watch Commander. We'll train a new Tactical PO from one of the spare space cats. Now let us question our prisoners.

"Where are the pedophile toy crèches located?"

"Why should I tell you I'm dead anyway. I saw you hug Mary," Daniel Detweiler's sneer of superiority was wasted on the cats, and Tommy.

Tommy sneered back, "While I was a cadet an upper classman sexually assaulted me in the shower, I called for help from the cats, and they killed the kitten attacker, and Full Belly here ate his reproductive organs as a light snack. He likes the taste and will do the same for you if you don't tell me. He wants you to remove your clothing as he dislikes the taste of clothes with his snack, and if you can get an erection he does like the taste of extra blood. I would remove your clothes if I were you as the cats tend to take meat when they rip them off people so why endure the extra pain?"

Daniel's sneer was gone as he stripped, "They are on the small continental island on the planet Gamma in the Darius System all twelve of the year of maturity crèche clusters the younger the age of maturity the more age grade crèches, you see, and the main pre-surgery crèche is in the center. But the Darius System is also our fleet base and construction yard, and they will know you're coming from the escapees." A ghost of the sneer had returned.

"No problem this is a big fleet. Now tell us what you know about the defenses of the Darius System, I should warn you the cats can tell when you are lying, and Full Belly has permission to eat his snack if you do."

The three captured Detweilers provided much good intelligence, resisting torture is one thing, resisting being eaten alive is something else, and they talked to the inhuman lie detectors losing a mouth full of flesh for each lie. Admiral Alexander-Harrington agreed that the Darius System was the next target of the fleet. Three new crewcats and a crew female two-leg kitten were trained while they consolidated their conquest of the Mesan system, and during the flight to the Darius System. The cats confiscated a pair of cruse ships to take the rescued kittens home to Sphinx. The telepathic kittens too large or who did not want to serve in the fleet would be very useful as translators for the cats on Sphinx, and by the way providing a home and work for the rescued sex slaves. The non telepathic kittens would be offered work in a society where their lack of physical maturity would not be so much of a handicap they could learn the cat's sign language.

Tommy Always A Kitten and Annie Pretty Kitten spent their time with the mindsingers taking academy courses. Also Tommy learning to be a captain of _Death Fang's Bane_ and, Annie leaning to be a communications ensign and Port Watch commander of the _Black Rock Clan's Revenge_. It was a hectic time for both of them but, the treecats were proud that both kittens persevered without complaint.

A little before entering the Darius System Admiral Alexander-Harrington briefed Tommy on a special mission he would share with now Marine Sergeant Frankenstein, recruiting telepathic PBTs and PGTs after the battle. Annie would be the voice of the treecats in the coming battle. While Tommy and the marines would secure the island containing the crèches where the PBTs and PGTs were created and trained.

Honor said, "I know you would rather be with the squadron but, this is more important in the long run, and I'm assigning the whole marine force of the fleet to it. I want Death Fang squadrons in the whole fleet after we finish off the Mesans. Not only is the stealth technology going to spread but, they are the most potent LACs in the whole fleet. The Mesan leadership would have escaped without them in the Battle of the Mesa System and you know it. Yamato reports Annie Pretty Kitten can handle communications and, the treecats trust only you for this mission."

Sergeant Frankenstein thought and signed, That's right Always A Kitten we voted while you were with the mindsingers. This is too important to all the clans to be entrusted to any other Two Leg even Cloud Rider. You are one of those we wish to aid the People and thus are the only one who can properly speak to them and encourage them to join our fight against those who wrong them.

Tommy said, "But Admiral just one more battle and the Mesans are history."

Honor sighed, "Even with the evidence that the Solar League Journalists on Mesa uncovered may not stop our war with the League. There are midlevel Mesan operatives out there spurring on the war, now the leadership of the Mesans and, I don't think they will stop promoting further war in the League. Also I suspect any surviving Mesan forces will join them and so we will need those Death Fang Squadrons I fear."

Tommy nodded, "Yes, Admiral."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Darius System turned out to be undefended. The Mesan fleet had decamped for the redought base, but had left the base, shipyards, and new construction intact for their return. The survivors of the Mesan Alignment Navy were confident that the Royal Manticoran Navy's tradition of abiding by the Deneb Accords would continue, and none of the captives would divulge the location of the Darius System's base and shipyards. Attacking from the redoubt base would prevent their destruction in the unlikely event the Manties managed to backtrack the Mesan Alignment Navy's raiders. Unfortunately for the Mesan Alignment Navy the treecats were not signatories of the Deneb Accords, and were their own lie detectors. Their prisoners provided not only the location of the Darius System and tactical intelligence on the Darius System, but the location and tactical intelligence of the redoubt base as well. While Honor Alexander-Harrington and the combined fleet consolidated their hold of the Darius System and convinced the slave population that their former masters were indeed evil the treecats had another vital task, obtaining more voices.

**Administrator's Office Main Pedophile Toy Crèche on the small continental island on the planet Gamma in the Darius System:**

The administrator was in terror as an apparently six-year-old 'Tom Sawyer Class' PBT led five battle suited Royal Manticoran Marines into his office. Two of the Marines were small six limbed arboreal predators in battle armor with sharp battle steel claws extended, and the PBT was obviously in command with the single silver bar on his collar and the gold stripe and a half of a Manticoran Naval Lieutenant Junior Grade on his uniform coat sleeve. On his head was the half white half black beret of a RMN LAC commander.

Tommy ordered in his 'six-year-old' high voice, "You will provide buses and personnel to bring us the two to eight-year-olds of the eighteen to twelve year age grade crèches. They are to be brought to the auditorium here as soon as possible."

The administrator gulped, and said, "Yes, sir." It was the first time the Pedophile's Toy Department of Manpower Inc. Administrator had addressed a PBT as 'sir,' but it would not be the last. Tommy had been given command of the fleet's marines to take the pedophile's toy crèches, separate out the useful telepaths for the treecat Death Fangs, and begin to resettle the other abused two leg kittens on Sphinx with the treecat clans.

Each crèche contained ten PBTs and ten PGTs or twenty children. There were sixteen crèches of two-year-olds and ten crèches of eight-year-olds. So the total number of permanently prepubescent sex slaves specified was [(16+15+14+13+12+11+10) x 20] or 1,820. However Tommy specified only those of age grades eighteen to twelve or [ 20 = 840] of the 1,820 or forty six percent of the total. Based on Tommy's limited experience in his own crèche there should be ten percent say eighty-four possible recruits for the Death Fangs.

Four hours later Tommy looked over a sea of faces, many had his own face that of the Tom Sawyer Genotype. He used his mind voice first, Those of you who can hear my mind voice remain in your seats when I dismiss the others to return to their crèches. "All of you not ordered to remain will return to your buses and be returned to your crèches until latter." About a hundred remained, and all were either the Tom Sawyer or Orphan Annie Genotypes. Tommy was startled by this, but finally said, "Come up next to the stage, and I'll join you."

Tommy came down among his fellow now free sex slaves, his personal guard, Sergeant Frankenstein (Bloody Claw) sat on his rear haunches beside him, and Tommy thought, I can offer you an opportunity to start your freedom as officers in the Royal Manticoran Navy as I did. Our ability to communicate telopathicaly allows us to hear the mind voice of the Sphinxan treecats like Bloody Claw here. Special LAC squadrons of treecats are being formed, however they have a communication problem with humans, and here is where we come in. You will be the voice of the cats on your LACs. You are free now you may or may not take this oppurtunity as you choose. I can neither say that service with the fleet will lack risks of death or injury, nor that it is always exciting, but it is good necessary work with both financial and social benefits our fellows without our telepathic abilities will not have. Those who wish to serve take seats in the front here by the stage, and those who do not wish to take advantage of this oppurtunity take your seats near the back entrances. I must be honest with you that there are civilian oppurtunities awaiting on Sphinx for you who do not vollenteer for the Navy. If you have further questions ask either me or sergant Bloody Claw here.

One girl, Annie, asked Bloody Claw, What other opportunities are there on Sphinx?

While the People can use sign language or keyboard to communicate, two leg kitten, your translating for us is much faster and precise. So in treecat society your value as translators will be great, and greatly sought after. As teachers you could speak to both two leg and the People in mixed classes, as sales clerks to a mix of customers, and likewise in many other fields. The navy can use you now, your translating ability and size are perfect for our needs, and those of higher age crèches can fulfill civilian needs. We silver claws will recruit some of the older ones with your abilities to speak properly to both the People and the Two Legs into the marines later, but you smaller ones are needed in the Navy.

There were many other questions, about the cats, their society, their games, and their own kittens. Other questions about the planet Sphinx, naval service, and benefits were also asked. All using mental voices, and to either Tommy or Frankenstein. Tommy culled out the two and three year olds, they were unsuited for naval life, their age lock had locked their maturity level too low for adult responsibilities, in the end he had sixty-nine recruits, forty-three Tom Sawyers and twenty-six Little Orphan Annies. He took them back to the HMS Defiant to start their new lives, but the others, save one, were sent back to their crèches to await with the others rescue.

The Annie who asked the first question came along to join the silver claws, and she asked, You marines will need one of your own translators for recruiting, right Bloody Claw? The sacred Frankenstein purred, and soon all the silver claws had met and liked the spunky little red headed vixen, and Captain RMMC Jessie Jenkins was not about to argue with his cats about enlisting her. A scared treecat marine The Mummy was assigned as her personal guard, his treecat name was Death Fang Biter. The Mummy, Frankenstein, and Annie recruited marines from the older Tom Sawyers and Orphan Annies.

The Tom Sawyers and Orphan Annies who had not undergone age keeping surgery and treatments were offered it, with risks and benefits explained. The cloning tanks, the Tom Sawyer and Little Ophan Annie genotype stem cells, the Medusan technicians and surgeons, etc. were loaded for transport to Sphinx. The new clones would be offered the choice at age six for naval recruits, and age seventeen for marine recruits to keep the translators coming. Those who volunteered would undergo the surgery and treatments that made them able to communicate with a mind voice, while the others would enter society as 'normal' citizens. Those who did not volunteer for either service could undergo the surgery and treatments at any time to have a lucrative career as translators. Because of their value as translators for the treecats their creation would be the one exception to the Manticorian laws against cloning. All the Tom Sawyers and Little Orphan Annies who had not volunteered were sent to Sphinx along with the cloning equipment and personnel, and the bulk of the naval and marine volunteers were sent to Sphinx system for continued training under Rachel Mayhew GSN, her treecat companion, Hipper, and of course the Grayson Arms Men expected to accompany the Protector's eldest daughter.

Only twelve of the new recruits remained with the HMS _Defiant_, a Tom or Annie on each Death Fang and, a few new marine recruits. HMS _Defiant_ was again sailing into harm's way. Lieutenant JG Tommy Always A Kitten was captain of the Death Fang _Death Fang's Bane_ it's repairs complete, and a little practice before the fleet left the Darius System. Tommy was finding that being captain of a Death Fang was not all sweetness and light. First he was still a kitten to the crew, his fellow captains, and the other officers on HMS _Defiant_, but his handling of the loss of his former captain Jason had impressed both his direct commander Lieutenant Commander Cluster Stalk Seller [Yamatto] and Admiral Harrington-Alexander. Not to mention the very successful recruiting assignment on Gamma. On the way to the Darius System his head had ached as the mind singers gave him four years of the academy in two weeks of stolen time from his regular duties. On Darius he had been in charge of recruiting the Toms and Annies besides the limited time he and his crew had to practice. He took the two weeks of interstellar flight off to recuperate, catch up on his sleep and, finally getting to play some poker to relax. While not as good as the recuperated Moe who was still slightly better than Tommy but, as unwary crew members entered the game Tommy began to bring out more money than he brought in. Tommy had a poker-face, and was developing a poker-mind.

The fourteen to seventeen year old marine Toms and Annies were learning poker Tommy had got them an advance on their salaries but, they had a lot of marine training luckily the standard marine armor fit all the recruits except Frankenstein's Annie, Loud Kitten, who would stay aboard as company clerk in a child's skin suit. The new ensigns were taking academy training from the mind-singers, communication equipment repair courses, communication protocols and, were way too busy to relax on the trip out with little time to eat and sleep let along play poker. The new snotty's would be super-numberies on their Death Fangs. It was contemplated that upon return to the home system they would be come the communications Ensign, the former communication ensigns becoming Death Fang commanders. If they survived the coming desperate struggle the current Death Fang commanders would be squadron commanders of new Death Fang squadrons now training at home.

The Mesan Redoubt System's Fleet was surprised then the Joint Fleet popped in a true system englobement. Tommy was part of four of the Death Fangs assigned to a Grayson Carrier tasked with preventing the escape to the league of as many ships as possible. He had his own Snotty Tommy mischievous Kitten to deal with a 'four-year-old' former PBT of sixteen actual years of age. Dewey was the Treecat commander of the detached mini squadron.

Dewey thought Always a Kitten keep formation you are drifting and the other Death Fang's mind-singers are complaining! At one time it was thought a treecat's mind-voice could only cover a few hundred meters, then a few kilometers, but they could easily project thoughts millions of kilometers.

But Tommy and the PBTs and PGTs could not project thoughts over a range of a thousand meters so he used the radio, "Wilco, Always Successful." All the treecats could understand spoken English. Turning he thought '_You got to do better keeping station Torn Ear. If we are not on station it is more difficult for the mind-singers to plot hidden enemy to allow the fleet to engage them.'_

_'I'm doing my best but, we did not get enough practice and, there are no simulators on the ship.'_

Tommy chuckled and thought, '_Excuses are like assholes, Torn Ear, everybody has one. Now do better station keeping Space Cat!'_

Mischievous Kitten thought and said, '_I could do better than that, Captain.'_

Tommy got serious, '_Shut up Snotty! If we were not already the laughing stock of the squadron I'd let you try just to teach you a lesson but, this is a combat mission and we have to have our game faces on._'

All the other cats on the bridge thought, '_Yah, shut up Snotty!'_

Mischievous Kitten thought and said, "Alright all ready guys can't you take a joke if you guys are as tence as I am you need a break"

Tommy still serious said, "How many times do I have to tell you to shut up. Moe if he opens his mouth again get him off my bridge!"

_'Yes, Captain_.' Moe thought and, Mischievous Kitten went into a sulk but, a quiet sulk.

Phillis Diller We got a school of sharks they will be on the plot in a bit. There Always Successful is having his Snotty report them to the Grayson Admiral. We're moving the formation out of the missile's way. Keep in station you clumsy space cat! Had Tommy been a traditional naval officer he might have resented Phillis' giving orders on his bridge, but, he was mind-blind to non directed long distance thought orders. He was getting better thanks to the cat's mind training, but still a kitten where mind control was concerned and Phillis and the other cats took up the slack. His crew was still far from a well oiled machine but getting there. missile pods were rolling.

"Fire!" the Grayson's Admiral's order caught Tommy by surprize and he jumped a bitt. He watched the plot as another nine sharks were gutted. Time dragged on other fleet elements fired on enemy ships, and the enemy was shooting back.

Friendly casualties were light until an undetected shark school attacked and, badly damaged the ROHN fleet that came in the perpendicular to the orbital plane it had been assigned. The Grayson's Admiral released the Death Fangs to go to the stricken fleet's aid. Four Death Fangs to take on nine sharks would be badly outnumbered and out gunned but, the sharks would standing still compared to the hard charging Death Fangs. While Tommy and Tom Mischievous Kitten were excited, the treecats were instinctual arboreal hunters preparing to rend and enemy with their silver egg's missile claws. Keeping formation at near full acceleration was difficult if not impossible but eventually the mind-singers pinpointed the enemy. Then an idea hit Tommy, "Phyllis you could point at one enemy ship with great accuracy by yourself couldn't you?"

Yes, but there are nine.

"But if every mind-singer picked just one mind-glow and each Death Fang attacked just that ship we would not have to hold formation and, could maneuver in attack much better, right?" Phyllis Diller nodded yes, and Tommy continued, "Discuss this plan with Always Successful and the other mind-singers I don't want to use the radio and give the enemy a heads up. I think the enemy have figured out we can see them in this formation and in formation we are a big fat target. They might have stealth missiles too with no mind-glow for you to detect. These sharks might be bait just to get us and allow the others to attack the fleet, and there are about fifty unaccounted for sharks as best we can figure. I think a multiaxis attack would on this school be best."

Tommy 'listened' to the mind voice of Phyllis Diller as she forwarded his suggestion and then began issuing helm orders, the chace was on. Tommy let Moe direct the hunt he was a hunter of stature and, sat at the communications station leaving the captain's station to Moe. They killed their first shark on the first pass, there were three near misses by shielded missiles. Tommy thought They really were trying to kill us. I'm radioing a warning to the fleet, and especially the Andies on the other perpendicular. Tommy radioed using the day code. The half of the squadron with Admiral Alexander-Harrington broke off going toward the Andies at full acceleration. I hope I guessed the Mesans strategy if I'm wrong Admiral Alexander-Harrington is in trouble.

Moe thought '_Who was the two-leg who said not to take counsel in your fears?'_

Tom Mischievous Kitten over his funk thought '_General Patton USA pre-dispora Earth but, I liked the one by General Lee, "It is good war is so terrible or we would love it too much."'_

Tommy chuckled, "I though I told you to shut up, snotty." The radio reported the Andies were under attack. The repeater plot showed the Death Fangs spreading for independent hunting. The third and last pass saw the last shark down the Death Fangs were landing on a ROHN Carrier with half their missiles but, nearly out of reaction mass. The Death Fangs had a warm welcome the ROHN had only managed to kill just one shark by back tracking its missiles soon enough for a shot.

After getting permission to board the carrier and, after enduring the Havenites hearty welcome Tommy spoke, "Refill our reaction tanks as fast as you can for I fear a renewed attack on our main fleet elements. I think they sacrificed the units attacking you and the Andies to draw us away."

The ROHN admiral said, "You might be right, refill those LACs with reaction mass as fast as possible. Have you informed Admiral Alexander-Harrington of your suspicions?"

"No, but my communications snotty is doing so as we speak and, now if you will excuse us we need to see the reaction mass tanks filled."

While Tommy and most of the other Toms and Annies were out with the Republic of Haven Navy dudes snotty Tom Mischievous Kitten was using the FTL communications gear to warn Admiral Alexander-Harrington and the Grayson admiral to be cautious of a possible sneak attack. "Captain Always A Kitten thinks they will attack you Admiral Alexander-Harrington since the enemy commander has been very aggressive so far but, if he wants to save the bulk of his fleet he'll retreat either by attacking the Graysons with his remaining sharks or on an axis where we will have difficulty to intercept. We will return to the Graysons and, the Captain suggests you order Yamato to return as soon as the Andies have replenished his reaction mass. The Captain suggests you have reaction mass tankers ready for when we run out during the coming fight you know cats on the hunt they'll run till they're dry."

I stopped writing at this point since David's new book made this story out of line with his cannon. Pokermind.


End file.
